The United States welcomes the law on Ukraine's national security adopted by the Verkhovna Rada and signed by President Petro Poroshenko, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert has said.

"The law is consistent with Western principles and provides a framework for increasing the Ukrainian Armed Forces' NATO interoperability," Nauert said in a statement posted on the official website of the U.S. State Department on Friday, July 6.

It notes that full implementation of the law, including the establishment of a Rada oversight committee for the security sector and a new law on the Security Service of Ukraine, will further deepen Ukraine's Western integration.

"The United States stands ready to continue supporting Ukraine's defense and security sector reforms to bolster Ukraine's ability to defend its territorial integrity," Nauert said.

As reported, on July 5, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed into law the bill on Ukraine's national security approved by the Verkhovna Rada, which defines and delineates the powers of state bodies in the spheres of national security and defense, as well as determines accession to EU and NATO as fundamental national interests.

The Verkhovna Rada adopted this law at second reading and as a whole on June 21.

The law stipulates that civilians will be appointed by Ukraine's defense minister and his deputies.

The Security Service of Ukraine by this law is defined as a state special-purpose body with law enforcement functions that ensures state security. The powers of the SBU include the opposition to intelligence and subversive activities against Ukraine, the fight against terrorism, counterintelligence protection of state sovereignty, constitutional order and territorial integrity, defense and scientific and technical potential, cybersecurity, economic and information security of the state, critical infrastructure facilities. The SBU will also deal with the protection of state secrets.

The Verkhovna Rada instructed the Security Service of Ukraine within six months after the entry into force of this document to draft a bill on amending the law on the SBU and forward it to the president for submission to the parliament.

The law comes into force on the day after its publication, and as regards the appointment of civilians by the defense minister and his deputies it will enter into force on January 1, 2019. A number of clauses of the law will come into force on January 1, 2021.