NOS News•today, 8:48 PM
Outgoing Prime Minister Rutte has not yet received the hoped-for support from Turkish President Erdogan, although Rutte told NOS afterwards that he had a “very positive conversation” with Erdogan. Rutte’s visit to Erdogan today was not a visit on behalf of the Dutch government, but was aimed at his ambition to become Secretary General of NATO.
Turkey is one of the last four NATO countries that have not yet expressed support for Rutte. Even after the meeting, Turkey has not yet done so. Erdogan said he would make that decision with “strategic wisdom and justice.”
Rutte does need that support, because the appointment of a new Secretary General requires unanimous support from all member states. In addition to Turkey, Hungary and Slovakia have not yet supported Rutte. The fourth country, Romania, came up with its own opponent: President Iohannis, although he cannot count on the support of the other member states.
Expectations
The government leaders did not only talk about Rutte’s ambition during their meeting. It is expected that Erdogan wants something in return for supporting Rutte. Turkey’s expectations were therefore central during the meeting. Erdogan said he also submitted the demands to Iohannis by telephone.
Turkey has two major concerns when it comes to NATO and it is important to understand them, Rutte said afterwards. “One: Realize that combating terrorism is also an absolute part of membership of the alliance for a country like Turkey. And a second is that many countries in NATO are members of the European Union, but that does not mean that NATO is the same as the European Union. Union.” Turkey has been an EU candidate country since 1999, but negotiations have been at a standstill for years.
Crucial ally
The two also discussed Ukraine and Gaza in their conversation, Rutte and Erdogan said during the joint press conference. “You really play an important role,” Rutte said, calling Turkey a crucial ally. He also emphasized that Turkey is the largest military power in NATO after the United States.
The Netherlands and Turkey are celebrating their 100 years of friendship this year, but the two countries have maintained a warm friendship for more than four centuries, government leaders emphasized. “Thank you very much for the friendship over all these years,” Rutte concluded his part of the press conference. “I hope to continue the relationship in some capacity.”
