U.S. Senator John McCain has declined the offer of a seat on the Ukrainian president's International Advisory Council on Reforms, citing restrictions imposed on him by the U.S. Constitution.
“I was honored to be asked to join Ukraine’s International Advisory Council on Reforms, a forum for discussing ways to ensure Ukraine’s territorial integrity and security and support the country’s democratic future in the face of Russian aggression. However, under provisions of the U.S. Constitution concerning the interaction of Members of Congress with foreign governments, I am obligated to decline the invitation,” reads a statement published on McCain’s official website.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko recently issued a decree establishing the International Advisory Council on Reforms and appointing former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to head it. The council’s members include former Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament Elmar Brok, European Parliament member Jacek Saryusz–Woslki, and U.S. Senator McCain.
