NATO’s longtime chief hands over to former Dutch premier Mark Rutte

BRUSSELS (AP) — One of NATO’s longest serving top officials, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg , stepped down on Tuesday, handing over the reins to former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as the military alliance confronts some of the biggest challenges in its history.

The two men, who first sat together at NATO’s table 14 years ago as the leaders of Norway and the Netherlands, greeted each other warmly outside the alliance’s Brussels headquarters, before laying a wreath to fallen military personnel, surrounded by the flags of the 32 member countries.

“Mark has the perfect background to become a great secretary general,” a visibly emotional Stoltenberg said as he ended a decade in office.

“He has served as prime minister for 14 years and led four different coalition governments, so therefore he knows how to make compromises, create consensus, and these are skills which are very much valued here at NATO,” Stoltenberg said.

Rutte said that he “cannot wait to get to work.”

After hundreds of NATO staffers applauded the two men as they moved inside to the great hall where North Atlantic Council meetings are held at the level of ambassadors, ministers or leaders, Stoltenberg helped his successor to get started by presenting him with a Viking gavel to use when chairing meetings.

Rutte said his priorities would be NATO’s support for Ukraine, with the war now in its third year, increasing defense spending and strengthening partnerships that the alliance has established with other countries around the world, notably in Asia and the Middle East.

Rutte also underlined the importance of keeping the trans-Atlantic bond between the United States, Canada and Europe strong, and expressed confidence that he can work well with whoever is elected to the White House.

Surveys suggest the U.S. election in November will be a close race. It could see the return of Donald Trump, whose bluster during his last term of office about low defense spending among European allies and Canada undermined trust of NATO member countries .

It became an existential challenge, as smaller members feared that the U.S. under Trump would renege on NATO’s security pledge that all countries must to come to the rescue of any ally in trouble, the foundation stone the alliance is built on.

But Rutte said: “I know both candidates very well.” He praised Trump for pushing NATO allies to spend more and for toughening their approach toward China. He also hailed the “fantastic record” of Vice President Kamala Harris and described her as “a highly respected leader.”

“I will be able to work with both. Whatever is the outcome of the election,” Rutte said.

Stoltenberg, NATO’s 13th secretary-general, took over in 2014, the year that “little green men” from Russia infiltrated Ukraine. Moscow annexed the Crimean Peninsula, sparking a defense spending buildup at the world’s biggest security alliance that gathered pace over his term.

His tenure was surpassed only by Dutch diplomat Joseph Luns, who spent 12 years in charge of NATO.

NATO secretaries-general run the HQ, drive the alliance’s working agenda and speak on behalf of the 32-nation organization with one unifying voice. Continuity is usually the key word when they take up office.

Rutte becomes NATO’s top civilian official as Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine approaches the 1,000-day mark.

“There can be no lasting security in Europe without a strong, independent Ukraine,” he said in his first speech on taking office, and he affirmed a commitment made by the organization’s leaders in 2008 that “Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO.”

Russian forces are making advances in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine’s army has a shaky hold on part of the Kursk region in Russia, which has provided a temporary morale boost, but as casualties mount it remains outmanned and outgunned.

Rutte will have to find new ways to encourage support for Ukraine among the allies, whose ranks have swelled to 32 countries since the invasion as Finland and Sweden joined to seek protection from Russia under NATO’s security umbrella.

Trump has been critical of U.S. aid to Ukraine, and he suggested last week that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should have made concessions to Russian leader Vladimir Putin before he launched his invasion in 2022.

Ukraine’s NATO membership remains a distant prospect. Several member countries, led by the U.S. and Germany, believe that Ukraine should not join the alliance while it’s fighting a war.

布鲁塞尔（美联社）——北约任职时间最长的高级官员之一、秘书长延斯·斯托尔滕贝格周二卸任，将领导权移交给荷兰前首相马克·吕特。此时，北约正面临着其历史上一些最大的挑战。

14 年前，挪威和荷兰的领导人首次在北约谈判桌上并肩而坐。如今，这两位领导人在北约布鲁塞尔总部外热情地互相问候，随后向阵亡军人敬献花圈，周围环绕着 32 个成员国的国旗。

“马克具备成为一位伟大秘书长的完美背景，”斯托尔滕贝格在结束十年任期时，情绪明显激动地说。

斯托尔滕贝格说：“他担任总理已有 14 年，领导过四届不同的联合政府，因此他懂得如何妥协、达成共识，而这些技能在北约非常受重视。”

吕特表示他“迫不及待地想要开始工作”。

数百名北约工作人员为这两位男士鼓掌，他们进入了举行北大西洋理事会大使、部长或领导人级别会议的大厅。随后，斯托尔滕贝格向他的继任者赠送了一把维京木槌，供其在主持会议时使用，以此帮助继任者开始工作。

吕特表示，他的首要任务是北约对乌克兰的支持（这场战争已经进入第三年），增加国防开支，并加强北约与世界其他国家（特别是亚洲和中东国家）建立的伙伴关系。

吕特还强调了保持美国、加拿大和欧洲之间跨大西洋关系牢固的重要性，并表示有信心与任何当选入主白宫的人合作愉快。

民调显示，11月的美国大选选情胶着。唐纳德·特朗普有可能再次当选，他在上一任总统任期内曾大肆抨击欧洲盟国和加拿大国防开支过低，这损害了北约成员国对他的信任。

这变成了一场关乎存亡的挑战，因为较小的成员国担心，在特朗普的领导下，美国会背弃北约的安全承诺，即所有国家都必须在任何盟友遇到麻烦时伸出援手，而这正是北约赖以建立的基石。

但吕特表示：“我非常了解这两位候选人。”他赞扬特朗普敦促北约盟国增加军费开支，并对中国采取更强硬的立场。他还称赞副总统卡马拉·哈里斯“政绩斐然”，并称她为“一位备受尊敬的领导人”。

“无论选举结果如何，我都能与他们合作，”吕特说。

斯托尔滕贝格是北约第13任秘书长，他于2014年上任，那一年来自俄罗斯的“小绿人”渗透到乌克兰。莫斯科吞并了克里米亚半岛，这引发了世界最大安全联盟国防开支的激增，并在他任期内加速增长。

他的任期仅次于荷兰外交官约瑟夫·伦斯，伦斯曾担任北约主席长达 12 年。

北约秘书长负责管理总部，推动联盟的工作议程，并代表32个成员国发出统一的声音。他们上任时，通常会强调工作的连续性。

随着俄罗斯全面入侵乌克兰接近 1000 天，吕特成为北约最高文职官员。

“如果没有一个强大、独立的乌克兰，欧洲就不会有持久的安全，”他在就职后的首次讲话中说道，并重申了该组织领导人在 2008 年作出的承诺，即“乌克兰的正当地位是在北约”。

俄军在乌克兰东部取得进展。乌克兰军队虽然暂时控制了俄罗斯库尔斯克地区的部分领土，这在一定程度上提振了士气，但随着伤亡人数的增加，乌克兰军队在兵力和火力上仍然处于劣势。

鲁特将不得不寻找新的方法来鼓励盟国支持乌克兰。自入侵以来，盟国数量已增至 32 个国家，芬兰和瑞典也加入了北约，寻求北约安全保护以抵御俄罗斯。

特朗普一直批评美国对乌克兰的援助，他上周还暗示，乌克兰总统泽连斯基应该在2022年发动入侵之前向俄罗斯领导人普京做出让步。

乌克兰加入北约的前景依然渺茫。以美国和德国为首的几个成员国认为，乌克兰在战争期间不应加入北约。