Finland’s newly elected president Alexander Stubbe has said that there is no prospect of political dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin as long as Russia continues its aggression against Ukraine, the BBC reported on February 12. reported.
In Finland’s presidential election on February 11, conservative Stubbe won with 51.6% of the vote. His rival, Green Party candidate Pekka Haavisto, conceded defeat after winning 48.4% of the vote.
“It is self-evident that as long as Russia is waging a war of aggression against Ukraine, any political dialogue with President Putin will be difficult,” Stubbe said. “Therefore, it is not expected that there will be any communication with President Putin or other Russian political leaders in the near future.”
The election is the first since Finland joined the NATO military alliance on April 4, 2023, and Stubb said the move comes after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. characterized it as a “done deal.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow did not know whether Putin would congratulate Stubb, citing Finland’s “unfriendly position”, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
“Finland is currently on Russia’s list of unfriendly countries. We fully support sanctions (against Russia),” Peskov said.
Finland has extended its border closure with Russia for another month amid concerns that the Kremlin is undermining Northern Europe’s security by sending thousands of migrants across the border, Euronews reported in February. Reported first.
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