Poroshenko was especially complimentary of Tillerson's decision last week to appoint a special envoy for Ukraine negotiations, former USA ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker, who is widely considered to be a hawk on Russian Federation. He will "take responsibility for advancing US efforts to achieve the objectives set out in the Minsk agreements", the department said.
Speaking at a meeting Monday with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Kiev, Poroshenko said Ukraine would not be applying for a NATO membership "immediately" but would instead "build a genuine program of reforms" to meet NATO requirements for membership in the future.
Ukraine has counted on US support against Russian Federation since a pro-Western government took power following street protests in 2014 that ousted a Kremlin-backed president.
Germany, France, Ukraine and Russian Federation brokered a package of measures in Minsk in 2015 meant to end the conflict, but this failed to stop the fighting.
In 2014, the European Union and the United States introduced several rounds of anti-Russia sanctions over Moscow's alleged involvement in the internal crisis in Ukraine.
Volker is a career diplomat who served as the USA envoy to North Atlantic Treaty Organisation under both the Bush and Obama administrations.
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"The fact that they appointed [Volker] is a sign this administration is serious about Ukraine", John Herbst, former USA ambassador to Kiev, told Foreign Policy.
Tillreson will make his first official visit to Kiev following the G20 summit in Hamburg.
Volker, who will accompany Tillerson to Ukraine, will also engage regularly with all parties handling the Ukraine negotiations under the so-called Normandy Format - Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine.
The two sides announced a new effort last week in Hamburg, focused on avoiding interference in elections and curbing cybersabotage.
The appointment comes as the administration's views toward Russian Federation remain in flux. He reaffirmed America's commitment to NATO's mutual defense provisions and the importance of Eastern Europe to his administration. Several diplomatic sources tell Foreign Policy German Chancellor Angela Merkel asked Trump to appoint a special envoy for Ukraine during her visit to Washington in March. That could soothe Washington's European allies, who anxious in the early days of the Trump presidency he could sell European security guarantees and support for Kiev down the river for some form of grand bargain with Putin.
Tillerson and other USA officials for some time have been pushing Ukraine to press ahead with reforms that would curb corruption and improve governmental transparency. At the time, United States officials criticized the effort by Germany and France to broker the deal with Russian Federation.
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