Ukraine should extend full legal protections to gay people, including same-sex marriage, as part of its bid for EU membership, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has said.

Ukraine was granted EU candidate status in 2022 shortly after the escalation of the conflict with Russia. While Brussels has floated 2030 as a possible accession date, all current member states must approve the move.

“There’s a living expression of the libertarian values that Ukraine is fighting for,” Kristersson wrote in a post on Friday, after meeting with LGBTQ Ukrainian veterans and Sweden’s rights group RFSL in Stockholm. He noted that same-sex couples in Ukraine “cannot enter into marriage or a registered partnership” and said Sweden would “closely monitor” the matter during the EU accession process.