WASHINGTON – With the announcement of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to Ukraine in early May, the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) penned a letter to the secretary of state requesting that the United States reaffirm its commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence. The letter accentuated the strategic partnership which exists between the two countries, while also highlighting key issues of continued support for Ukraine as Kyiv fends off Russian aggression and malign influence.
“Russia’s unrelenting aggressive behavior vis-à-vis Ukraine is dangerously destabilizing the international legal system,” wrote UCCA President Andrew Futey and Executive Vice President Michael Sawkiw, Jr., who both signed the letter.
“As the bastion of democracy in the free world, the United States must take the lead in promoting international norms and consolidating geo-political stability,” the authors wrote.
The correspondence urged the secretary of state to accelerate a Membership Action Plan (MAP) for Ukraine as an initial step toward full membership in NATO; bolster U.S. financial assistance for Ukraine aimed at strengthening trans-Atlantic stability; enhance a comprehensive sanction regime to stop the Nord Stream 2 political pipeline; hold NATO military exercises in Ukraine; expand a Russia-sanctions regime to include sectoral sanctions; and it calls for the immediate withdrawal of Russian forces in occupied eastern Ukraine and Crimea.
In concluding the letter, the authors reiterated the importance of U.S. support for Ukraine as a strategic partner.
“The U.S. must take definitive action to help stabilize the transnational, trans-Atlantic security framework, which clearly serves our national interests as Americans, or the crisis in Ukraine is likely to escalate,” the authors wrote.
The UCCA leadership also requested a meeting with Mr. Blinken upon his return from Ukraine to discuss areas of furthering cooperative measures and enhancing the bilateral relationship between Ukraine and the United States.