World News | Finland, Sweden Submit NATO Membership Application

Brussels, May 18 (AP) 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 Russia'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 letters from the two Nordic countries' ambassadors.

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The application must now be weighed by the 30 member countries. That process is expected to take about two weeks, although Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed reservations about Finland and Sweden joining.

If his objections are overcome, and accession talks go as well as expected, the two could become members within a few months. The process usually takes eight to 12 months, but NATO wants to move quickly given the threat from Russia hanging over the Nordic countries' heads.

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Canada, for example, says that it expects to ratify their accession protocol in just a few days.

Public opinion in Finland and Sweden has shifted massively in favour of membership since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.

Finland and Sweden are NATO's closest partners. They have functioning democracies, well-funded armed forces and contribute to the alliance's military operations and air policing.

Any obstacles they face will merely be of a technical, or possibly political nature. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)