AMSTERDAM/BUDAPEST (June 18): Hungary and Slovakia gave their support to the candidacy of Mark Rutte as the next secretary-general of Nato on Tuesday, an important step for the outgoing Dutch prime minister towards securing the top job.

Nato takes decisions by consensus, so any candidate needs the support of all 32 allies. Only Romania, whose President Klaus Iohannis is also vying for the job, is still opposed to Rutte's candidacy.

Hungary's backing follows a meeting Prime Minister Viktor Orban had with Nato's current Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg last week, where the two sides agreed that Hungary would not block Nato decisions on providing support for Ukraine but has agreed that it would not be involved.

"PM Mark Rutte confirmed that he fully supports this deal and will continue to do so, should he become the next Secretary General of Nato," Orban wrote on the X social media platform.

"In light of his pledge, Hungary is ready to support PM Rutte’s bid for Nato Secretary-General."

Nato's next chief will face the challenge of sustaining allies' support for Ukraine's fight against Russia's invasion, while guarding against any escalation that could draw the military alliance directly into a war with Moscow.

Orban had earlier opposed Rutte's candidacy because he had expressed "problematic" opinions that included the idea that Hungary should leave the European Union.

Hungary has been at odds with other Nato countries over Orban's continued cultivation of close ties with Russia and refusal to send arms to Ukraine, with Budapest's foreign minister last month labelling plans to help the war-torn nation a "crazy mission".

Turkey and Slovakia have also changed course on Rutte's bid, with Turkey saying it would support him in late April and Slovakia announcing its support earlier on Tuesday.

Slovakia, which borders Ukraine, had stressed the need for the next Nato chief to help deal with the protection of Slovak airspace, its President Peter Pellegrini said, after the previous Slovak government donated an S-300 system to Ukraine, and allies pulled out Patriot batteries that had been temporarily placed there.

  - Reuters