Rada does not support appeal to U.S. Congress to grant Ukraine bilateral status as major U.S. ally outside NATO

MPs did not support the Verkhovna Rada's appeal to the U.S. Congress to grant Ukraine bilateral status as a major U.S. ally outside NATO (MNNA).

At the extraordinary plenary session, 24 MPs voted for the relevant resolutionNo. 5380 (at least 226 votes in support are needed to make a decision).

As said in the explanatory note to the draft resolution, the appeal to the U.S. Congress to grant Ukraine bilateral status as a major U.S. ally outside NATO is justified by the Russian Federation's ongoing military aggression against Ukraine, the Russian Federation's supply of weapons, military equipment and ammunition to illegal armed groups.

"As of today, the security situation in eastern Ukraine deteriorates because of increasing Russia's military presence near Ukraine's borders and in the occupied Ukrainian Crimea, as well as provocations by Russia in the occupied part of eastern Ukraine," the Verkhovna Rada said in a statement.

A draft resolution on the Verkhovna Rada's appeal to the U.S. Congress to grant Ukraine bilateral status as the U.S. main non-NATO ally (MNNA) was reported in parliament (No. 5380). The document will be considered at an extraordinary meeting of the Council on September 8. The collection of signatures for the extraordinary meeting was initiated by the MP of the European Solidarity faction Oleksiy Honcharenko.

Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova said that the status of the main non-NATO ally (MNNA) is suitable for countries that do not plan or cannot join the North Atlantic Alliance, and Ukraine has decided that its goal is NATO membership.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Ukraine will be the main U.S. ally in NATO, not outside NATO, and the idea of ​​applying to the U.S. for the status of a major ally outside the Alliance does not bring any "added value" to Ukraine's security.