WASHINGTON - “The United States and most Western countries" support outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte to become the new NATO Secretary General, General Onno Eichelsheim said on the TV program WNL Op Zondag. "It actually looks very positive. 

The United States is by far the most important military power within NATO and therefore also has a decisive say in the appointment of a new leader of the military alliance. 

According to General Eichelsheim, it is "very likely" that Rutte will succeed the Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg as NATO Secretary General. Eichelsheim expects the appointment to be announced in April or May. 

Eichelsheim attended the security conference in Munich in recent days, where he spoke with various European heads of government and soldiers who made positive remarks about Rutte. “Even if you hear in the corridors in Munich, only positive things are said about him, so I think he is a good contender,” he said on WNL Op Zondag. 

"Of course, talks will still have to be held here and there," said the country's top military official. In addition to Rutte, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and Latvian Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins are also interested in the position. 

If Rutte is appointed head of NATO in the spring, there will probably not yet be a new Cabinet. Whether Rutte will then remain in office as the outgoing head of government is a political decision. There has never been a situation like this in recent Dutch history. 

In the past, there have been politicians who remained in the Cabinet until they became NATO Secretary General. However, there have also been ministers who resigned immediately after their appointment, such as Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen in 2009.