[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 530 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 530
Calling on President George W. Bush and other leaders attending the
2006 Group of Eight (G-8) Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, to engage
in a frank dialogue with the President of Russia concerning actions of
the Government of the Russian Federation that appear inconsistent with
the Group's objectives of protecting global security, economic
stability, and democracy, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 14, 2006
Mr. Biden (for himself, Mr. Allen, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Kerry,
and Mr. Frist) submitted the following resolution; which was considered
and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Calling on President George W. Bush and other leaders attending the
2006 Group of Eight (G-8) Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, to engage
in a frank dialogue with the President of Russia concerning actions of
the Government of the Russian Federation that appear inconsistent with
the Group's objectives of protecting global security, economic
stability, and democracy, and for other purposes.
Whereas the leaders of 6 major industrialized democracies including France, West
Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States,
gathered in 1975 for a summit meeting in Rambouillet, France, and for
annual meetings thereafter under a rotating presidency known as the
Group of Six (G-6);
Whereas the G-6 was established based on the mutual interest of its members in
promoting economic stability, global security, and democracy;
Whereas, in 1976, membership of the G-6 was expanded to include Canada;
Whereas the members of the G-7 share a commitment to promote security, economic
stability, and democracy in their respective nations and around the
world;
Whereas Russia was integrated into the Group in 1998 at the behest of President
William Jefferson Clinton as a gesture of appreciation to then-President
of Russia Boris Yeltsin for pursuing reforms and assuming a neutral
position with respect to the eastward expansion of North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO);
Whereas, in 2002, Russia was selected to hold the rotating presidency of the G-8
and to host the Summit of the G-8 in 2006;
Whereas the official G-8 statement issued on June 26, 2002, in Kananaskis,
Canada regarding the selection of Russia as host of the 2006 Summit
stated that the decision reflected ``the remarkable economic and
democratic transformation that has occurred in Russia in recent years
and in particular under the leadership of President Putin'';
Whereas in the intervening 4 years since Russia was selected to host the 2006 G-
8 Summit, the Government of the Russian Federation has pursued policies
that raise serious concerns about the commitment of the Government of
the Russian Federation to upholding democratic values both at home and
abroad;
Whereas the United States Department of State 2005 Country Report on Human
Rights Practices noted that trends in Russia, including the
``centralization of power in the executive branch . . . continuing
corruption and selectivity in enforcement of the law, political pressure
on the judiciary, and harassment of some non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) [have] resulted in an erosion of the accountability of government
leaders to the people'' in Russia;
Whereas, in 2005, the independent non-governmental organization Freedom House
reclassified Russia from ``partly free'' to ``not free'' in its global
survey of political rights and civil liberties;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has placed onerous restrictions
and monitoring requirements on non-profit organizations operating in
Russia that limit the ability of both Russians and non-Russians to
create a vibrant civil society in the country;
Whereas the freedom of the media in Russia has been seriously compromised due to
the Government of the Russian Federation's continuing control and
censorship of major mass media outlets and efforts to obstruct the
reporting of independent journalists;
Whereas regulators from the Ministry of Culture of the Government of the Russian
Federation have reportedly threatened radio stations with revocation of
their broadcast licenses if they continue airing material from the Voice
of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), thereby
precipitating the largest decrease in the number of outlets for VOA and
RFE/RL reporting since the end of the Cold War;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has sought to interfere in the
electoral processes and democratic governance of neighboring countries
including Georgia and Ukraine;
Whereas Russia was the only member of the G-8 to applaud the outcome of
fraudulent presidential elections in Belarus that were characterized by
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe as evidencing
``a disregard for the basic rights of freedom of assembly, association,
and expression'';
Whereas the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom and
other monitoring organizations have reported increased evidence of
racism, anti-Semitism, nationalism, and xenophobia among segments of
Russian society;
Whereas, in late 2005, Gazprom, a company majority owned and operated by the
Government of the Russian Federation, insisted on a more than four-fold
increase in the price charged for natural gas sold to Ukraine and
subsequently shut off gas supplies to Ukraine, causing cascading energy
shortages in many countries throughout Europe;
Whereas there have been interruptions in the supply by Russia of energy to
Georgia and Moldova;
Whereas the March 2006 report of the Independent Task Force on Russia of the
Council on Foreign Relations stated that ``to protect the credibility of
the G-8 at a time when many are questioning Russia's chairmanship, the
United States should make clear that this role does not exempt Russian
policies and actions from critical scrutiny'';
Whereas the United States recognizes and applauds the proud history of
achievement, creativity, and sacrifice of the people of Russia;
Whereas the United States seeks the development of Russia as a strong,
responsible, democratic partner in promoting global peace and security;
and
Whereas the United States believes that both the people of Russia and the
Government of the Russian Federation will be shackled in their efforts
to build a strong society domestically and contribute to the work of the
international community so long as the Government of the Russian
Federation fails to fully embrace the values of democracy: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
(1) in order to preserve the integrity of the G-8 as a
forum of the leading industrialized democracies of the world,
President George W. Bush and other heads of state attending the
G-8 Summit should explicitly, frankly, and honestly engage
Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin in a dialogue about
the anti-democratic behavior of the Government of the Russian
Federation;
(2) the United States and other democratic countries should
reaffirm their support for civic and non-governmental
organizations working to promote democracy and the rule of law
in Russia;
(3) the Government of the Russian Federation should take
action to ensure that it guarantees the full range of civil and
political rights to its citizens, as it is obligated to do
under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;
(4) consistent with its obligations under the International
Covenant, the Government of the Russian Federation should take
steps to cease its interference with foreign news
organizations, including the Voice of America and Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty;
(5) the Government of the Russian Federation should take
action to combat rising racism, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia
in Russian society; and
(6) the United States and countries of the G-8 should
reaffirm their support for new democracies on the borders of
Russia and, where applicable, expedite their integration into
Euro-Atlantic institutions to provide a bulwark for democracy
in eastern Europe and the Caucuses.
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