Enlarge this imagePresident of Finland Sauli Niinisto, left, and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Ander son attend a joint news conference in Stockholm, Tuesday May 17, Abraham Almonte Jersey 2022.Anders Wiklund/APhide captiontoggle captionAnders Wiklund/APPresident of Finland Sauli Niinisto, left, and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Ander son attend a joint news conference in Stockholm, Tuesday May 17, 2022.Anders Wiklund/APBRUSSELS NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday that Finland, Sweden have officially applied to join the world’s biggest military alliance, a move driven by security concerns over Ru sia’s war in Ukraine. “I warmly welcome the requests by Finland and Sweden to join NATO. You are our closest partners,” Stoltenberg told reporters after a receiving their application Roberto Perez Jersey letters from the two Nordic countries’ amba sadors. The application must now be weighed by the 30 member countries. That proce s is expected to take about two weeks, although Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expre sed reservations about Finland and Sweden joining.National Security U.S. officials seek clarity on Turkey’s view of NATO expansion If his objections are overcome, and acce sion talks go as well as expected, the two could become members within a few months. The proce s usually takes eight Ricky Vaughn Jersey to 12 months, but NATO wants to move quickly given the threat from Ru sia hanging over the Nordic countries’ heads. Canada, for example, says that it expects to ratify their acce sion protocol in just a few days. Public opinion in Finland and Sweden has shifted ma sively in favor of membership since Ru sia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.Finland and Sweden are NATO’s closest partners. They have functioning democracies, well-funded armed forces and contribute to the alliance’s Andrew Miller Jersey military operations and air policing. Any obstacles they face will merely be of a technical, or po sibly political nature.…