• Stubb’s victory marks Finland’s first since joining the NATO military alliance.
• Finland officially joined NATO in April 2022 after Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine.
• Stubb described his election victory as “the greatest honor of my life.”

Former Conservative Prime Minister Alexander Stubb won Sunday’s presidential election, securing 51.6% of the vote, while his Green Party rival Pekka Haavisto, the former foreign minister, conceded defeat with 48.4%. This marks Finland’s first election since joining the NATO military alliance. Mr. Stubb, 55, adopts a hardline approach towards Russia, with which the Nordic nation shares a long land border.

He declared that his country would join NATO as soon as Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, stating that it was a “done deal.” Finland officially became the 31st member of the Washington-led alliance last April.

At a press conference late on Sunday, Mr. Stubb, a member of Finland’s National Coalition Party, described his election victory as “the greatest honor of my life.”

He also emphasized that having any kind of political dialogue with Putin is challenging as long as Russia wages an aggressive war against Ukraine.

“So, I don’t see any kind of communication with Putin or with the Russian political leadership soon. We all want to find a pathway towards peace, but it seems to me that that pathway happens only through the battlefield at the moment.”

Mr Haavisto, who ran as an independent, admitted his defeat.

“Well, Alexander. Congratulations to Finland’s 13th president,” the 65-year-old said.

“If you ask me today if I’ll ever be involved in any elections again, my answer is probably ‘no’, not for a while and maybe never,” added Mr. Haavisto, who had also unsuccessfully run for the presidency twice before.

Instead, he announced that he would now focus on his duties as a lawmaker. Mr. Stubb will officially assume office on 1 March, replacing Sauli Niinisto. The Finnish head of state directly oversees foreign and security policy and serves as the commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces.

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