Turkey will support Mark Rutte as next NATO leader: Report

Turkey will likely announce support for Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s bid to take over as the next NATO secretary-general. Rutte is expected to visit Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday, although the trip is not on Rutte’s public agenda.

Erdogan is expected to make the decision over the course of the meeting or soon after, sources close to the Turkish leader told Bloomberg. It could be announced within a few weeks, the news agency reported.

Turkey is one of four NATO countries that have not yet backed Rutte publicly. The caretaker prime minister needs unanimous support from all 32 members of the Western military alliance.

Rutte is still competing with another rival candidate, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis. He could back out of the race as soon as Turkey speaks out in favor of his Dutch counterpart, NATO sources told Bloomberg.

In addition to Turkey and Romania, Rutte still has to convince Hungary and Slovakia. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who leads the Hungarian government, has publicly opposed Rutte’s candidacy.

Rutte paid the costs to visit Erdogan from his own pocket, as it concerns his aspiration to become the next NATO chief, and is not for a meeting as the Dutch head of government. Turkey reported earlier that the country expects the next secretary-general will not be biased towards giving advantages to the European Union Member States which are also part of the NATO alliance. Turkey has also asked for more attention in the fight against terrorism, including from Kurdish groups.

The United States hoped to present Rutte as the new NATO chief months ago. Rutte's supporters are now aiming for the end of May when the alliance's foreign ministers meet in Prague. They aim to have a decision before the NATO summit in Washington in July.

It is not clear if Rutte will still be the prime minister this summer. Rutte's fourth Cabinet has been in a caretaker status since last July. Rutte's VVD has been negotiating with the PVV, NSC and BBB since the November elections in an attempt to form a new Cabinet. The current round of talks are set to end in early May.