Romania's president may be Eastern Europe's candidate for NATO top seat

Romanian diplomats notified peers in other NATO countries about plans to propose president Klaus Iohannis for the Alliance's secretary general position that becomes vacant this year, according to Bloomberg, later confirmed by Politico.

By challenging Mark Rutte, Iohannis could at least launch a much-needed debate among NATO's members about the Alliance's commitment to help Ukraine and consolidate its own eastern flank.

Romania's move would complicate the candidacy of frontrunner, the Dutch outgoing prime minister Mark Rutte – who already secured support from NATO's major members US, France, UK, and Germany over the last 24 hours.

Romania's nomination could be regarded as being behind more Eastern European countries concerned about the Alliance's position on the war in Ukraine ahead of a possible return of Donald Trump to the White House, Politico implied. Rutte's "lack of incentive in reaching out to nations on the border with Russia" reportedly annoyed countries in the region.

Saying that they don't mean to stand in the way of Rutte, a senior Eastern European diplomat said: "At least somebody has to ask, 'OK, Mark, how are you going to deal with Russia?'"

They also cite Rutte's repeated failure to bring Dutch defense spending up to the target of 2% of GDP agreed by all allies a decade ago, which they said could be used against him if Trump were to be elected.

(Photo source: Presidency.ro)