Ex-Prime Minister Alexander Stubb has narrowly won Finland’s presidential election runoff on Sunday against former Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto.

Former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb has won the first round of Finland’s presidential election and will face runner-up ex-Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto in a runoff next month.

NATO’s blue and white flags are fluttering against the backdrop of Helsinki deep blue sky as Finland is on the cusp of its historic entry into NATO.

Finland’s foreign minister has suggested that the country may consider joining NATO without neighboring Sweden if Turkey continues to block their joint bid to enter the military alliance.

The European Union has reached a deal in principle to send an 18 billion euro ($18.93 billion) financial aid package to Ukraine and approve a minimum tax of major corporations in a big move that narrowed a rift between the European Union and recalcitrant member Hungary.

European Union countries have agreed on the need to make it harder for Russian citizens to enter the 27-nation bloc.

Finland’s Parliament has passed amended legislation on border security that allows for the closure of crossing points with Russia.

The 30 NATO allies have signed off on the protocols needed for Sweden and Finland to become members.

When the leaders of Finland, Sweden and Turkey met with NATO’s chief this week, some remained pessimistic the meeting would lessen Turkey’s objections to the Nordic pair’s historic request to join NATO.

Turkey has agreed to lift its opposition to Sweden and Finland joining NATO, a breakthrough in an impasse clouding a leaders’ summit in Madrid amid Europe’s worst security crisis in decades triggered by the war in Ukraine.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he's confident Turkey’s objections to Finland and Sweden joining NATO can be overcome swiftly.

Sweden has denied it is providing any “financial assistance or military support” to Kurdish groups or entities in Syria — claims that Turkey’s using to back its opposition to Sweden’s and neighboring Finland’s historic bids to join NATO.

Key decision-makers in non-aligned Finland and Sweden are set to announce their positions on NATO membership this week.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the military alliance would quickly welcome Finland and Sweden into the fold if they decided to apply.

Finland and Sweden have brushed off warnings from neighboring Russia that their possible joining NATO would trigger “serious military-political consequences” from Moscow.

A European Union envoy says Ethiopia’s leaders told him in closed-door talks earlier this year that “they are going to wipe out the Tigrayans for 100 years.”.

In this handout photo released by Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks during his talks with Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto in St. Petersburg, Russia, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Lavrov blamed the European Union for a freeze in ties and argued that Moscow remains ready to mend relations. Just as EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell was visiting Russia earlier this month, Moscow announced the expulsion of diplomats from Germany, Poland and Sweden for attending protests in support of Navalny. Haavisto emphasized the EU's strong criticism of the Russian action, noting that the EU diplomats were fulfilling their duty while observing the protests. “Our relations with the EU don't matter when it comes to that,” Lavrov said.

Cypriot Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides, left, speaks with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, second right, during a meeting of European Union foreign ministers at the European Council building in Luxembourg, Monday, Oct. 12, 2020. European Union foreign ministers were weighing Monday whether to impose sanctions on Russian officials and organizations blamed for the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny with a Soviet-era nerve agent. (Jean-Christophe Verhaegen, Pool via AP)BRUSSELS – European Union foreign ministers agreed Monday to impose sanctions on Russian officials and organizations blamed for the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny with a Soviet-era nerve agent. “It was a complete acceptance by all member states,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters after the talks. Last week, tests conducted at labs designated by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons confirmed that Navalny was the victim of a Novichok nerve agent.