LONDON

Germany joined the US, UK, Germany and France on Tuesday to support the nomination of the Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte for the top NATO job. 

Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas expressed support for Rutte and said for a strong NATO, "we need to be clear-eyed on Russia, boost deterrence and defence spending, back Ukraine's membership, and geographic balance."

"I have discussed this in depth with @markrutte and he commits to these priorities. Estonia can back him for NATO's Secretary General," she wrote on X.

Rutte, 57, needs the endorsement of all 31 NATO allies before he can be nominated to replace Jens Stoltenberg, who is expected to step down in October after 10 years at the helm.

NATO allies agreed last July to extend Stoltenberg's mandate for another year until Oct. 1, 2024.