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

Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has stepped down, leaving the world’s biggest security organization in the control of former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. The handover comes as the alliance confronts some of the biggest challenges in its history. Stoltenberg took over as NATO’s top civilian official in 2014, the year that Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. Rutte said his priorities will be ensuring NATO’s continued support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, increasing defense spending and boosting partnerships the alliance has around the world. He insists that he will be able to work equally well with whoever becomes the next president of the United States, NATO’s most powerful member.