Rishi Sunak told Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy he belonged in Nato as he assured him “real progress” had been made on providing security guarantees for Kyiv in its fightback against Russia.
The British prime minister met the Ukrainian president on the fringes of the Nato summit in Vilnius.
Mr Zelenskiy has been left frustrated by the reluctance of the 31 member states to agree a timetable for wartorn Ukraine to be admitted into the international defensive alliance.
He said it is “absurd” that Nato has insisted that there are still military and democratic “conditions” for the eastern European country to meet before it can join following the end of the conflict with Moscow.
Greeting Mr Zelenskiy in the Lithuanian capital on Wednesday, Mr Sunak said: “It is good to see you here at Nato where you belong.”
Mr Zelensky said he was keen to advance talks on security guarantees for his people, with Mr Sunak assuring him that “real progress” had been made in that regard.
The British premier has consistently stated that he sees Ukraine’s place as being in Nato but its pathway to entry has proved a sticking point among allies in Vilnius.
Mr Sunak has been working behind the scenes to deliver a non-Nato multilateral defence and economic agreement for Ukraine to give it long-term support against current and future Russian aggression.
All members of the G7 – made up of the UK, the US, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada – are set to sign the pact with Ukraine, which the Prime Minister has said has the potential to “return peace to Europe”.
As well as holding talks with Mr Sunak, the Ukrainian leader also met other G7 heads of state, including German chancellor Olaf Scholz and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau.
He is expected to meet US president Joe Biden later on Wednesday.
During the opening exchanges of their meeting, Mr Sunak praised the efforts of Ukraine’s armed forces in the pushback against Moscow’s invading forces.
The British prime minister said: “What your soldiers are doing on the front line, it is inspiring to everyone.
“We’re proud to have played a part in training some of them.
“They have served with enormous bravery and courage.”
Mr Zelensky said the training missions in the UK had been “very important”, with Mr Sunak adding it was clear the exercises had “been put to good use”.
Conservative Party leader Mr Sunak suggested the pair meet without aides present, with the Ukrainian president agreeing that there should be “only two” of them in the room.
Such a move had previously been seen as unusual, but it has become a regular tactic of Mr Sunak in recent months to meet with his allies on a one-to-one basis.
