Leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom have chosen to support Anders Fogh Rasmussen of Denmark for the position of new Secretary General of NATO, according the German press reports.

The German newspapaer Sueddeutsche Zeitung suggests that Rasmussen’s chances of becoming head of NATO are very good considering that the United States has, historically, backed candidates chosen by heads of Western European nations.

NATO leaders met Thursday to discuss, among other things, the nominations for candidacy to the organization’s top position. The names thrown out there included Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, you had been nominated by the Polish government with the backing of President Lech Kaczynski.

.

The German daily claims that Sikorski, once a favoured candidate, has lost support due to his harsh comments against Russia, with whom NATO seeks to revitalize relations, following President Barack Obama‘s new dovish attitude towards the Kremlin..

“The Polish head of diplomacy, Radek Sikorski, who was recently a top candidate, has fallen out of the race due to his extremely critical stance against Russia […],” writes the paper.

NATO members will choose someone to replace the current Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, in April at an official Summit to celebrate 60 years of the Organization’s existence. Scheffer has held his post since 2004. (mmj/pg)