FINLAND'S FLOWERS

FINNS VOTED on Sunday to overwhelmingly reelect President Sauli Niinistö who is rightly credited for maintaining-

A balanced relationship with a very powerful neighbor Russia, at a time of - *Simmering tensions* between Moscow and the West.

Finland's most popular president in more than three-decades, the 69 year old who campaigned as an  independent has skillfully shifted the EU member state closer to NATO without  antagonising  Russia-

With whom the Nordic country shares the longest border in the block.

During his first term, Niinistö has meticulously cultivated ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been at odds with the West particularly since Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.
[Agencies].