U.K. wants NATO to speed up Ukraine's membership process as alliance prepares to meet
CTV
Britain's defence secretary said Thursday that he wants NATO leaders to consider fast-tracking Ukraine's membership in the military alliance when they meet next month in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Britain's defence secretary said Thursday that he wants NATO leaders to consider fast-tracking Ukraine's membership in the military alliance when they meet next month in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Ben Wallace met with Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand as she visited London, where the pair talked about priorities for the upcoming NATO leaders' summit on July 11 and 12.
Wallace said he believes the 31 member countries should consider allowing Ukraine to skip the membership action plan portion of the accession process.
"Sweden and Finland didn't have any of that and I think that opens a very fair question about, should at Vilnius we just skip that and say that, subject to other conditions, Ukraine should be able to come in and join," he said.
"After all, they're going to have the most experienced land forces in Europe, and probably one of the most heavily armed countries in Europe."
Anand said that Canada supports Ukraine joining NATO "when the conditions are right."
"This is an increasingly important issue," she said. "Right now, Ukraine needs to win this war."
