The UK could support Ukraine dropping a stage to speed up its accession to Nato, the Foreign Secretary indicated.
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, James Cleverly said during a conference on Ukrainian reconstruction.
“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.
“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.”
A look at the Nato military alliance - in pictures
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 Zelenskyy, who addressed the conference via video link, had earlier urged 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.
Vladimir Putin says Ukrainian forces have 'no chance'
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Moscow had observed a "lull" in Ukraine's counteroffensive, which began early this month.
Although Ukraine still had some offensive potential, Kyiv understood it had "no chance", Mr Putin said in televised remarks.
His comments came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his army's progress was "slower than desired" but that Kyiv would not be pressured into rushing it.
Mr Putin has begun speaking with increasing frequency about the battlefield situation, perhaps reflecting the fact that the 16-month-old war has reached a critical moment with the launch of Ukraine's long-expected push.
"Oddly enough, at the moment we are seeing a certain lull. This is due to the fact that the enemy is suffering serious losses, both in personnel and equipment," he said.
But he said that Ukraine's offensive potential "has not yet been exhausted, there are also reserves that the enemy is thinking about where and how to introduce".
For the second time in less than a week, he said that the Ukrainian forces had "no chance".
The BBC quoted Mr Zelenskyy as saying in an interview that the military push was not going easily because 200,000 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory had been mined by Russian forces.
"Whatever some might want, including attempts to pressure us, with all due respect, we will advance on the battlefield the way we deem best," he added.
Ukraine says it has reclaimed eight villages so far in its counteroffensive, though only one of these was in the past week.
Contradicting Mr Putin's statement about a lull on the battlefield, British defence intelligence said on Twitter on Wednesday that "intense fighting continues in sectors of southern Ukraine".
