Peter Pellegrini wins Slovakia presidential election
Peter Pellegrini won Slovakia's presidential election Saturday against pro-Western diplomat Ivan Korcok.
Opposition-backed Korcok conceded defeat as nearly complete results showed he had received 47 percent of the vote against former prime minister Pellegrini's 53 percent.
«It is a huge satisfaction,» Pellegrini said in Bratislava, vowing «to ensure that Slovakia remains on the side of peace and not on the side of war».
Ahead of the run-off, Pellegrini had said he advocated peace talks with Russia. Korcok argued he did not believe Ukraine should give up territory to achieve peace.
Divisions over the Ukraine war dominated the run-off vote given the starkly opposing views of the conflict by the two candidates for the post that is largely ceremonial.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine became a fixture of the electoral campaign in the EU and NATO member of 5.4 million people after populist Prime Minister Robert Fico, Pellegrini's ally, questioned Ukraine's sovereignty and called for peace with Russia.
The government in office since October includes Fico's Smer party, Pellegrini's Hlas and the small far-right SNS. It has discontinued military aid to Ukraine.
Pellegrini, 48, thanked his coalition partners after his win.
'War candidate'
Korcok said he was «disappointed» but he respected the result.
«I want to express my belief that Peter Pellegrini will be independent and will act according to his own convictions and without orders,» the 60-year-old added.
«It
