The Helsinki Commission, an independent U.S. government agency dedicated to promoting human rights and security in Europe, has urged the Biden administration to strengthen defense relations with Ukraine. The commission seeks to help provide military and economic aid to Kiev as Russian forces advance toward the Ukrainian capital, SOVA writes.
In a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden, which was made available to Foreign Policy, the commission urged the administration to identify Ukraine and Georgia, which Russia invaded in 2008, as major non-NATO allies (MNNA) and to increase American support for both countries to join the alliance.
"While the United States has consistently supported Ukraine and Georgia joining NATO, the Russian occupation and ongoing invasion expose the tragedy of protracted Euro-Atlantic expansion," writes the commission, which is chaired by Democratic Senator Ben Cardin and House member Steve Cohen, a Democrat.
"In the absence of strong and active U.S. support for NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia, Russian President Vladimir Putin will continue to seize ample opportunity in his efforts to undermine security and cooperation in Europe and in his neocolonial agenda," the letter says.
Foreign Policy recalls that both Ukraine and Georgia were promised membership in the defense alliance at the NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania, in 2008. But despite extensive reforms, neither country was offered a timetable for joining. However, the commission recommended that the Biden administration consider granting MNNA status to other non-NATO countries on Europe's eastern flank: Finland, Moldova and Sweden.
"Granting MNNA status to a country would open up many channels to facilitate arms transfers, financial assistance and information exchange, and encourage further cooperation. It would also send a strong signal of support to both Kiev and Tbilisi. Unlike NATO membership, MNNA status does not entail any commitment to mutual security and defense," according to the Foreign Policy article
On Thursday, the White House announced that Colombia and Qatar had been granted non-NATO major allied status, bringing the total number of countries granted to 19. Usually such status is assigned to states with no ambitions or prospects of joining NATO.
At the same time, the publication notes that the decision to join NATO is made by 30 members of the alliance, and the assignment of MNNA status by the United States will not necessarily interfere with Ukraine's prospects for membership.
The Helsinki Commission, formally known as the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, was founded in 1976 as an independent government agency to monitor compliance with the Helsinki Accords, a major Cold War diplomatic agreement. Their purpose was to reduce tensions between the Soviet Union and the West and to establish human rights and security norms. The commission is composed of 18 members of Congress from both parties and representatives of the State Department, the Pentagon, and the U.S. Department of Commerce.
