The Kremlin said on Monday that it expects Finland’s new president, Alexander Stubb, to maintain a balanced approach to relations with Russia.
“We hope that the new head of state, who has the opportunity to receive all information, will be able to take a more balanced approach to the subject of Russian-Finnish relations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press conference in Moscow. We still have it.” .
Peskov stated that the selection of a new president is a “sovereign matter for the Finnish people,” and therefore Russia can only respect the Finnish people’s choice.
“Each time we expect that the new head of state will support the development of bilateral relations. Unfortunately, the exclusion of some kind of dialogue and the position on the development of bilateral relations has been outlined in advance Therefore, this part of the standard expression cannot be used,” Peskov further stated.
Commenting on the possibility that Russia might celebrate Stubbe’s election, Peskov spoke about the Russian government’s classification of Finland as an “unfriendly country” and the Finnish president’s comments that are “very unfriendly in nature.” I remembered.
Stubbe, a former prime minister, won 51.6% of the vote in Sunday’s election, defeating former Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto and becoming the Nordic country’s 13th president, according to local media.
– Russia seeks guarantees from Armenia regarding accession to the Rome Statute
Commenting on Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s comments about a possible visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Armenia following the country’s accession to the Statute of the International Criminal Court in Rome, Peskov said that this would affect bilateral relations. He said there could only be negative effects.
“Of course, it is very important here to obtain certain guarantees from Armenia’s partners and this issue should be resolved within the framework of bilateral dialogue, and that is what we are working on. ” Peskov said.
In an interview with the Telegraph broadcast on Sunday, Pashinyan neither confirmed nor denied that Putin would be arrested if he visited Armenia, adding that Yerevan, which formally joined the Rome Statute on February 1, He commented on the question of whether he would be arrested.
“There are different opinions and legal analyzes on this issue, especially a few lawyers who argue that the current head of state has immunity, insurmountable immunity, depending on his position. It’s not a political issue that I have to discuss and respond to,” he said.