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- Essi Lehto and Tom Little
helsinki, finland
Reuters
Finland’s president-elect Alexander Stubbe said on Monday that the country should remain calm and focus on joining NATO, despite former US President Donald Trump’s recent critical comments about the military alliance.
Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination in November’s US presidential election, said last week that he does not want to protect NATO members from a future Russian attack if they are slowing their contributions to NATO. Stated.
Alexander Stubbe of the National Union Party, who was declared the winner of the second round of the Finnish presidential election on Sunday, attends a press conference in Helsinki, Finland, on February 12, 2024. Photo: Antti Aimo-Koivisto/Lehtikuva/via Reuters
“The US election campaign is very different from the Finnish election, and the rhetoric used is much stronger…At this stage we need to remain calm and focus on building NATO membership,” Stubb said at a press conference. I think it’s best to do that.”
Finland, which won NATO membership in April last year in response to neighboring Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is spending more on defense than the 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) target agreed to by NATO members. Stubbe added.
Prime Minister Kaja Kalas of Finland’s neighboring NATO ally Estonia said on Monday that President Trump’s comments should be a wake-up call for allies to increase defense spending.
Mr Stubb said he wanted to ensure that Finland played a decisive role in NATO. “We want to be at the heart of decision-making and sit around the table where decisions are made,” he said.
In a historic reversal in security policy after decades of military non-alignment, Finland last year became NATO’s 31st member state seeking better protection against any Russian threat.
Stubbe, who will take office on March 1, is pro-European and a strong supporter of Ukraine, which has taken a hard line against Russia, which shares a long border with Finland.
“Until Russia ends its war of aggression against Ukraine, it will be very difficult to maintain relations with Russia,” said the first president of the former neutral Finland, who is committed to maintaining good relations with Russia. is not an important mission, Stubbe said.
Data showed on Sunday that the centre-right former prime minister and investment banker won 51.6 percent of the 3 million votes cast in the election, beating Liberal runner-up, Pekka Haavisto of the Green Party. He defeated Mr. by a narrow margin.
Satu Lappalainen, who has been in his 39th year, said: “I am really happy that Alexander Stubbe won. I hope it will,” he said. -An old consultant from Helsinki.