Former conservative prime minister Alexander Stubb won Finland’s presidential election on Sunday, defeating former foreign minister Pekka Haavisto in a vote marked by tensions with Russia following the Scandinavian country’s recent accession to NATO, AFP reported.

“Alexandre, congratulations to the 13th president of Finland,” Haavisto, a member of the Greens who ran as an independent candidate, said on public television, Agerpres reports.

In the second round of elections, Oleksandr Stubb won 51.7% of the votes after counting 98.3% of the ballots.

70.7% of approximately 4.3 million voters in Finland turned out to vote.

Stubb also took first place in the first round of voting, which took place on January 28.

With limited powers compared to those of the prime minister, the head of state, who is elected for a six-year term, manages the country’s foreign policy in close cooperation with the government. He is also the supreme commander of the armed forces.

This important role has become even more important in light of geopolitical events in Europe and Finland’s accession to NATO, which shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia.

Both strongly supported Ukraine

Both candidates in Sunday’s presidential election in Finland are pro-European and staunch supporters of Ukraine, and have taken a tough stance on Russia in their campaigns.

In an interview last month, Stubb said that for now there will be no Russian element in Finland’s foreign policy:

“There will be no political relations with the Russian president or the Russian political leadership until they stop the war in Ukraine.”

Stubb advocates deeper cooperation with NATO, such as allowing the transportation of nuclear weapons to Finnish soil and the permanent stationing of NATO troops in Finland. However, he does not support the storage of nuclear weapons in Finland.