Sweden and Finland finally submitted their bids to join NATO on Wednesday, despite Turkey's threat to block the inclusion of the Nordic nations.

Finland — which shares a 1,300-km (800-mile) border with Russia — and its neighbour Sweden have been unsettled by Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

What does this bid entail?

The two nations' requests to join the alliance as a measure of defence against feared aggression from Russia would end decades of military neutrality.

The accession protocols for both nations could be signed as early as June, to be followed by ratification procedures in member states. Sweden and Finland could become NATO members by the end of this year.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday warned that the expansion of NATO might trigger a response.

However, leaders of both the nations have expressed their satisfaction with their decisions:

"I'm happy we have taken the same path and we can do it together," Swedish PM Magdalena Andersson said Tuesday during a joint presser with Finnish President Niinisto before submitting their bids officially.

The main opposition to these bids, however, comes from within the alliance from Turkey which says that both the nations provide refuge to the terrorists and that Turkey doesn't approve of their inclusion saying, that the decision for the expansion of the alliance shall be agreed upon by all the 30 members.

This move is certainly, going to up the ante in the ongoing tensions with Kremlin while Putin struggles to make further inroads into Ukraine owing to a united front of the West!