The UK could be in favour of offering Ukraine a shorter route to Nato accession, the Foreign Secretary indicated.
James Cleverly said during a conference on Ukrainian reconstruction the UK would be “very supportive” if it was decided Kyiv did not need to go through the membership action plan stage of the process to join Nato.
“We have seen Ukraine evolve, and evolve incredibly quickly,” he told a press conference during the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London.
“Jens Stoltenberg, at the Nato informal foreign ministers (summit), said that actually, many of the requirements of membership action plan are actually being delivered.
Ukrainians have demonstrated their commitment to reform the military for requirement of Nato membership through their actions on the battlefield— James Cleverly, Foreign Secretary
“The reform of their armed forces is happening whilst engaged in conflict.
“I think the UK’s position would be very, very supportive if we moved on from the membership action plan, recognising that the offer to both Sweden and Finland didn’t require that and Ukrainians have demonstrated their commitment to reform the military for requirement of Nato membership through their actions on the battlefield.
“And I think all Nato allies recognise that.”
Ukraine has long pushed for both Nato and EU membership as it continues to battle Vladimir Putin’s forces, but western capitals have differing views on the possibility and timeline for Ukraine to join both groups.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who addressed the conference via videolink, had earlier urged western leaders to have the “courage” to acknowledge that his country is already a key part of their economic and defence alliances.
“We are only waiting for the courage of the alliance leaders to recognise this reality, politically.”
The comments by Mr Cleverly come ahead of a major Nato summit in Lithuania later this summer, in which a compromise on Ukrainian’s route to membership is expected to be brokered.
Nato agreed in 2008 that Ukraine would join the organisation one day, but did not set a date for it to start membership talks.
As the war continued, Ukraine applied for “accelerated accession” to Nato on September 30.
The Map stage is designed to help countries prepare for accession, but it is unclear whether other Nato members would back Ukrainian skipping such a process.
