NATO invites Finland, Sweden to join, says Russia is a 'direct threat'

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg bangs a gavel to mark the start of a round table meeting at the NATO summit in Madrid, Spain June 29, 2022. Susan Walsh/Pool via REUTERS

NATO invited Sweden and Finland on Wednesday to join the military alliance in one of the biggest shifts in European security in decades after Russia's invasion of Ukraine pushed Helsinki and Stockholm to drop their traditional of neutrality.

NATO's 30 allies took the decision at their summit in Madrid and also agreed to formally treat Russia as the "most significant and direct threat to the allies' security", according to a summit statement.