KIEV, September 8. / TASS /: The Ukrainian parliament (Verkhovna Rada)’s resolution to address the US Congress in terms of granting the country the status of a major non-NATO ally (MNNA) did not gain the sufficient support for its adoption.
On Wednesday, at an extraordinary meeting of the Ukrainian parliament, only 24 out of 226 deputies required supported the appeal.
A deputy from the European Solidarity party’s parliamentary faction, Aleksei Goncharenko, initiated the appeal, arguing the document’s adoption mainly by "Russian aggression." In his opinion, the status of the MNNA "does not in any way prevent [Ukraine] from joining NATO or other Euro-Atlantic structures," and also "gives a number of advantages over a mere cooperation agreement, primarily in terms of access to military technologies, US arms purchases and military aid."
However, Goncharenko’s initiative did not find support, first of all, among the Servant of the People ruling party, which considered the draft resolution a manipulation in terms of national security and recalled that Ukraine aspired to full membership in NATO, therefore it does not need the MNNA status.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry sticks to a similar line. The deputies of the Opposition Platform - For Life party also spoke out against participation in the voting.
