(ANSA-AFP) - BRUSSELS, MAY 18 - Finland and Sweden on Wednesday handed in their bids to join US-led alliance NATO, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine up-ended decades of military non-alignment. "The applications you have made today are an historic step. Allies will now consider the next steps on your path to NATO," alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said, after receiving the bids from the Finnish and Swedish ambassadors at NATO headquarters. (ANSA-AFP).