Ukraine's top priority is not to join NATO, but to win the war, after which the Alliance is ready to return to the relevant negotiations, the official representative of the Alliance said.

"Now the focus of the Ukrainian government is to win the war. And that's something we fully support. And when Ukraine wants to talk again about the next steps, we will return to this issue. Now the focus of all of us is to make the greatest contribution that would help Ukraine on the battlefield against the Russian invaders. And when Ukraine is ready to return to the issue of time intervals... And, again, it is up to Ukraine to decide. However, the focus now is to win the war," he said during a briefing during the summit of the organization.

The NATO representative stressed that the decision taken by the allies in 2008 at the Bucharest summit is unchanged.

"It works. We still see Ukraine as a NATO member in the future. Ukraine decides when and how to make a decision. The progress we saw yesterday with Finland and Sweden shows very directly that NATO's doors remain open. There is no fatigue from the expansion of the North Atlantic Alliance," he said.

According to the representative of the Alliance, Ukraine is critically important for all European security.

"It is also important for global security. Because what Russia is doing now with respect to Ukraine it can also do to other countries. However, for us in NATO, Ukraine should be an independent and territorially sovereign country in terms of security. This is critical to our safety. And that won't change either," he concluded.