Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said that U.S. President Barack Obama has refused Ukraine’s request to grant it the special status of a major non-NATO ally.
“The answer of President Obama was no,” he said in an interview with CNN after talks with the U.S. president.
Poroshenko said that according to Obama, Ukraine is already cooperating with the United States at a special level.
“The level of security and defense cooperation is much higher than just the status of a major non-NATO ally, like that granted to Argentina, for example. And we are working in a special status of a strategic defense and security partner of the United States, and I think that would be more effective,” he said.
Poroshenko said that Ukraine had received from the United States “more than it had asked for,” and said he was therefore satisfied with this cooperation.
