March 24, 2017

UCCA urges Tillerson to visit Ukraine

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NEW YORK – The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America in a letter dated March 22 urged U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to visit Ukraine during his upcoming European trip in April.

“As the bastion of democracy in the free world, the United States must take definitive action to help stabilize the transnational, trans-Atlantic security framework, which clearly serves our national interests as Americans. It is our firm belief that such a visit would reaffirm the United States’ steadfast commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and would signify that the United States supports its strategic partner’s sacrifices in the face of continued Russian aggression,” reads the letter signed by UCCA President Andrew J. Futey and Executive Secretary Marie Duplak.

The letter also notes:

“Ukrainian Americans, along with the Central and Eastern European ethnic communities of the United States, stand united in their support for the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine. This support mirrors official U.S. policy, passed into law under the Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014, to ‘assist the government of Ukraine in restoring its sovereignty and territorial integrity in order to deter the government of the Russian Federation from further destabilizing and invading Ukraine and other independent countries.’

“The U.S. Department of State recently reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to a sovereign and whole Ukraine, continuing official U.S. policy not to recognize the Russian Federation’s illegally attempted annexation of Crimea and its continued violation of international law. Today we ask that you back up those words with actions.”

The UCCA underscored: “…a strong, democratic and independent Ukraine remains in the national security interests of the United States. Ukraine today stands as the only non-NATO partner nation to have contributed actively to all NATO-led operations and missions for the past 20 years, and deserves at minimum, the same support given to other strategic allies by the United States.”

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