After announcing in June that he was giving up the race for NATO leadership, the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, stated on Wednesday, July 10, that he made this decision after “interesting negotiations“.
Klaus Iohannis announced on Thursday, June 20, that he is withdrawing from the race. PHOTO Presidency (Archive)
Being in Washington for NATO’s anniversary summit, the head of state spoke about his candidacy for the position of Secretary General of the Alliance: “There were interesting negotiations, there were discussions that we had and which I would classify as very good, very open, informal, they were all one-on-one discussions and, in the end, I decided that the fate of NATO is much more more important than my political fate and, before there is a general final conclusion, I have therefore decided to withdraw from the race, to allow the appointment of a NATO Secretary General, before this Summit“.
The president also wanted to say that “it’s good sometimes to see the bigger picture and act accordingly”according to Digi24.
We remind you that the announcement regarding the withdrawal from the race was made during the meeting of the Supreme Council of National Defense (CSAT), held on Thursday, June 20, at the Cotroceni Palace.
The 32 NATO member states on Wednesday, June 26, appointed Mark Rutte, the interim prime minister of the Netherlands, as the new Secretary General of the Alliance. Rutte will succeed Jens Stoltenberg, according to information released by international news agencies after a meeting of the North Atlantic Council.
“The North Atlantic Council has decided to appoint Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as the future Secretary General of NATO, to succeed Jens Stoltenberg. Rutte will assume the position of Secretary General starting on October 1, when Mr. Stoltenberg’s mandate expires after ten years at the head of the Alliance”, it is shown in the press release.
