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Crucial NATO decisions expected in Finland, Sweden this week

FILE - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy receives a standing ovation as he addresses Sweden's parliament via video link, in Stockholm, March 24, 2022. The question of whether to join NATO is coming to a head in Finland and Sweden, where Russia's invasion of Ukraine has shattered the long-held belief that remaining outside the military alliance was the best way to avoid trouble with their giant neighbor. (Paul Wennerholm/TT News Agency via AP, File) FILE - Sweden's Foreign Minister Ann Linde, left, and Finland's Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, right, speak with the media as the arrive for a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, Jan. 24, 2022. The question of whether to join NATO is coming to a head in Finland and Sweden, where Russia's invasion of Ukraine has shattered the long-held belief that remaining outside the military alliance was the best way to avoid trouble with their giant neighbor. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File) FILE - In this photo provided by the Swedish Armed Forces on Aug. 25, 2020, troops prepare in the Baltic Sea region. The question of whether to join NATO is coming to a head in Finland and Sweden, where Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shattered the long-held belief that remaining outside the military alliance was the best way to avoid trouble with their giant neighbor. If Finland and Sweden join the alliance, Russia would find itself completely surrounded by NATO countries in the Baltic Sea and the Arctic — two regions that Moscow considers its backyard. (Joel Thungren/Swedish Armed Forces/TT via AP, File) FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Finnish President Sauli Niinisto talk during their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Oct. 29, 2021. Niinisto, the Western leader who appeared to have the best rapport with Putin before the Ukraine war, is expected to announce his stance on NATO membership on Thursday, May 12, 2022. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File) FILE - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, center, participates in a media conference with Finland's Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, left, and Sweden's Foreign Minister Ann Linde, right, at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Jan. 24, 2022. The question of whether to join NATO is coming to a head in Finland and Sweden, where Russia's invasion of Ukraine has shattered the long-held belief that remaining outside the military alliance was the best way to avoid trouble with their giant neighbor. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, File)