Romanian president withdraws bid for the position of NATO chief

YEREVAN, JUNE 20, ARMENPRESS. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said on Thursday he is withdrawing his bid for NATO's leadership, Reuters reports.

He said the country's supreme defense council will support Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as the alliance's secretary-general.

Romania's supreme defense council also decided to donate one of the country's two operational Patriot systems to Ukraine, but on condition of further negotiations with allies to replace it with a similar air defense system, the report adds.

In July, 2023 NATO Allies agreed to extend the mandate of Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg by a further year, until October 1, 2024.