04.03.2021
Ukrinform
The United States cannot independently approve a decision on Ukraine’s integration into NATO, but nothing prevents it from granting the country the status of a major non-
NATO ally, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor has said.
He stated this during the webinar “U.S.-Ukraine Security Dialogue XII” on Wednesday, March 3, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.
Taylor also said this last week as he spoke with a U.S. government team dealing with the issue; several people mentioned a Membership Action Plan (MAP), which would ensure Ukraine’s accession to NATO.
He noted that there were difficulties in this matter as there are NATO members who still need to be convinced that Ukrainians are ready for the MAP. However, the diplomat said that this moment would come sooner or later and Ukraine would join NATO, as was promised at the 2008 Bucharest Summit.
At the same time, Taylor said, the United States can show its strong support and strong relations with Ukraine, granting it the status of a major non-NATO ally.
According to him, this does not require approval from any other NATO member. This is entirely within the competence of the U.S. government, Taylor said.
Major non-NATO ally (MNNA) is a designation given by the United States government to close allies that have strategic working relationships with the U.S. Armed Forces but are not members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The status, currently held by 18 states (including Australia, Brazil, Israel, South Korea, Japan), does not automatically include a mutual defense pact with the United States, but it still confers a variety of military and financial advantages that otherwise are not obtainable by non-NATO countries.