Ukraine may join NATO under a fast-track procedure

Ukraine may join NATO under a fast-track procedure similar to that used by Finland when it joined the Alliance earlier this year. This hope was expressed by representatives of the United Kingdom and Poland. This was reported by the Voice of America.

The Foreign Ministers of the United Kingdom and Poland expressed a positive opinion on speeding up the process of Ukraine's accession to NATO, based on the fact that the Ukrainian army already has equipment provided by the Alliance.

"Poland's position here is very clear. We want to bring Ukraine as close as possible to the Alliance in the institutional dimension. We want to adapt Ukraine's military and political structures to those that are standard in NATO," Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau said after meeting with his British counterpart in London.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly added that the Ukrainian military has "extensive experience in using standard NATO equipment, doctrine and tactics," which will simplify the process of joining the Alliance.

Cleverly also noted that the process of Finland and Sweden's accession to NATO was accelerated due to the recognition of their military capabilities, and this issue needs to be carefully considered when discussing the procedure for Ukraine.