WASHINGTON, November 15 (Sputnik) – A major non-NATO ally status will not give Ukraine any advantages, US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Paul Jones has said.
"On the specific issue of major non-NATO ally status…we have not seen any specific benefits that the status would provide to Ukraine beyond what we are already doing working together," Jones told journalists Friday.
Jones noted that this status, given by the United States government to close allies, is designed for countries "outside of the European theatre and the countries that have aspired to a certain relationship with NATO".
The US official also added that the United States is open to provide assistance to Ukraine that they believe is the most appropriate.
"We are in very close contact to provide what we think is…most effective," Jones said.
Since the beginning of the crisis in south-eastern Ukraine, the country has been striving for closer cooperation with NATO. In September, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko delivered a speech to the US Congress claiming that Ukraine needed strong US support, including a special status within NATO.
US President Barack Obama declined to give Ukraine a special status of a non-NATO ally.
Poroshenko also asked Obama for heavy weapon supplies, but Washington rejected the request, although the United States has promised to allocate $53 million in aid to Ukraine.
The conflict in Ukraine escalated in mid-April, when Kiev launched a military operation against independence supporters in the country's southeastern regions, who refused to recognize the new government which came to power as a result of the February coup.
