The Hungarian government does not support Mark Rutte’s candidacy for NATO secretary-general because the Dutch prime minister has previously said he would “bring Hungary to its knees”, the country’s foreign minister Peter Szijjártó said on Monday.
Speaking at a press conference in central Romania with the head of Hungary’s UDMR party Kelemen Hunor, Szijjártó confirmed that Mark Rutte does not have the votes of his government and welcomed the fact that there is now an eastern candidate for NATO secretary-general in the person of Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.
Johannis has announced his readiness to replace NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg when he leaves office this autumn, but he has received no clear support from any of the Alliance states, unlike outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
Peter Szijjártó said, quoted by Bursa.ro:
If NATO must strengthen its eastern flank and the challenges come from this direction, maybe the Secretary General should also come from the East (…). As for Mark Rutte, he said earlier that Hungary must be brought to its knees, and it is very difficult to imagine that a person who shares such an opinion should be supported at the top of an institution where full trust is essential. Here, we must have a protective alliance (…), a leader in whom we can trust one hundred percent, and if someone says that we have to kneel, I don’t think he has our vote.
Szijjártó also said that in NATO’s history there has never been a secretary general from the East, so the Hungarian authorities are happy “that there is a candidate from this region as well.”
Péter Szijjártó confirmed that he had a tough discussion with his Lithuanian counterpart in Brussels earlier in the day and said that Gabrielius Landsbergis is “one of the most pro-war politicians” among EU foreign ministers. He also stressed:
And no matter how much someone shouts at me, no matter how aggressive someone is, I remain pro-peace. We, Hungarians, are pro-peace, and we do not support any measures that would increase the risk of escalation of war. We want peace as soon as possible, because only peace can save human lives.
