British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has said that NATO members are ready to speed up consideration of Ukraine's application to join the alliance.
Speaking at a conference on Ukraine's reintegration in London, Cleverly said that Britain supports the idea of allowing Kyiv to avoid a lengthy application process, the BBC reports.
As you know, when joining NATO, most countries have to go through the so-called NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP). This is a formal procedure designed to ensure that potential members meet the alliance's standards. However, this process can take decades.
The British Foreign Secretary argues that Ukraine is already implementing many of the reforms needed to join NATO.
"I think Britain's position is that it would be very, very supportive if we moved on from the Action Plan, given that the Swedish and Finnish applications did not require it. The Ukrainians have demonstrated their commitment to reforming their army by their actions on the battlefield. And I think all NATO allies recognize that," he said.
Background. Earlier, NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg said that Ukraine would not receive an invitation to join NATO at the Alliance's summit in July.