Turkey Wants Rutte’s Neutrality Promise for Backing His NATO Bid

Selcan Hacaoglu and Cagan Koc
·3 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- Turkey wants reassurances from Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte before Ankara will approve his bid to be the next head of NATO.

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Turkey is keen to ensure that Rutte — or any other candidate — won’t have a bias toward the alliance’s European Union members, and particularly that he won’t bow to pressure from EU member states Greece and Cyprus, said the people who spoke on condition of anonymity when discussing a sensitive matter. The two countries remain at loggerheads with Ankara over long-running territorial conflicts.

Turkey also wants Rutte to allow Ankara to be included in NATO partnerships with the EU, and to make sure there won’t be defense export restrictions between NATO allies, the people said.

The country’s leadership is favorable toward Rutte’s stepping into the shoes of outgoing Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in principle, people familiar with the matter said, although it remains one of several countries who have yet to privately assent to his candidacy.

The Dutch premier has emerged as the front-runner to lead the North Atlantic Treaty Organization over recent weeks, and no country has vetoed him outright.

Read more: Rutte’s Backers Are Pushing to Lock Him in as NATO’s Next Leader

In July, the Dutch government withdrew restrictions on sales of arms to Turkey, more than three years after it had suspended them following Ankara’s military incursion into northern Syria. That decision came on the heels of Turkey’s agreeing to support Sweden’s NATO bid after months of negotiations.

Turkey is yet to communicate its list of asks to Rutte, the people said. The Dutch leader and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have softened their relationship and restored ties after tensions between the two countries flared up back in 2017.

Rutte’s office declined to comment, while a spokesperson for the Turkish government declined to comment.

Stoltenberg’s term expires in October and a decision to replace him has to be made unanimously by all NATO allies, who currently number 31. Countries supporting Rutte’s bid to lead NATO have been working behind the scenes to make sure the race is wrapped up within the next few months, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

The next NATO secretary general will have a full in-tray, taking up the job just as Russia’s war with Ukraine drags into its third year. They will need to work to contain direct spillovers between the alliance and Russia, on the one hand, while also encouraging allies to maintain military and financial support for Ukraine.

Rutte is wrapping up 13 years as the Netherlands’ longest-serving premier after the Dutch government collapsed in July. He’s stayed on in a caretaker role while far-right lawmaker Geert Wilders, who delivered a surprise victory in the November elections, is negotiating a coalition to replace him.

Read more: Rutte Seizes Lead in NATO Job Race as He Exits Dutch Politics

Despite broad support from NATO’s bigger countries, including France and Germany, NATO ambassadors have yet to officially sign off on Rutte’s candidacy. Some countries from the alliance’s eastern flank had been dragging their feet amid a push for greater representation for the region in senior organizational roles.

While Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and Latvian Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins both expressed interest in the top job last year, their countries didn’t formally nominate them.

--With assistance from Natalia Drozdiak and Zoe Schneeweiss.

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