The elected President of Finland, Alexander Stubbtoday blamed the “strong election rhetoric of the United States” for former US President Donald Trump’s controversial comments would support a Russian attack against the Allies that they don’t spend enough on defense.
“The election rhetoric in the United States is different, it is much stronger. I think that at this moment it is worth maintaining moderation and calm and betting on NATO membership,” he said in his first press conference after his election victory on Sunday against the environmentalist Pekka Haavisto.
Stubb stated that he personally would not want such a division in the United States, especially on issues of foreign and security policy, but showed some understanding for the former American president’s statements.
“Donald Trump is right about what the NATO countries have the commitment to spend 2% of GDP on defense. Currently, Finland is meeting these commitments very well, with spending at 2.3%,” he added.
Finland is the youngest member of the alliance, having ended its membership in record time last year, and the European country with the longest border with Russia in the European Union (EU). with 1,340 kilometers.
“For us, foreign policy is an existential issue because of Russia. But we are a security provider, not a security consumer, and we will continue to do so,” he said.
Stubb, who will take office March 1, defined himself as “enthusiastic supporter of transatlantic cooperation”, although he defended the idea put forward by his predecessor, Sauli Niinistöthat a more European NATO is necessary.
“I think the American commitment to the alliance is really important, but in this political situation, where the entire European security order has been disrupted by Russian aggression in Ukraine, we have to make sure that we take care of our own defense in Europe .” ” he said.
Regarding relations with neighboring Russia, he assured this does not consider it possible to restore high-level political dialogue with Moscow However, as long as it continues its offensive in Ukraine, it would be willing to play an intermediary role if requested by European partners or NATO.
In response to questions from the press, Stubb said he had not received any No congratulations from the Russian authorities among the many arrivals in the last few hours from all parts of the world.
The president-elect announced that his first official trip after his inauguration would be to the neighboring country Swedenwhose NATO accession he considers already completed due to the lack of a green light from Hungary.