110 HRES 603 IH: Expressing the sense of the House of U.S. House of Representatives 2007-08-01 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

IV 110th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 603 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES August 1, 2007 Mr. Hastings of Florida submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives on the announcement of the Government of the Russian Federation of its intention to suspend implementation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe.

Whereas the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, signed at Paris on November 19, 1990 (the CFE Treaty), was agreed upon and signed by 22 countries in order to establish parity, transparency, and stability in the balance of conventional military forces and equipment in an area of Europe stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Ural Mountains; Whereas there are now 30 countries that are party to the CFE Treaty, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States; Whereas the CFE Treaty is recognized as one of the most successful arms control agreements of the modern era and has served as a cornerstone of European security as the continent emerged from the shadows of the Cold War; Whereas the CFE Treaty facilitated the destruction or conversion of over 52,000 battle tanks, armored combat vehicles, artillery pieces, combat aircraft, and attack helicopters; Whereas the CFE Treaty continues to enable an unprecedented level of transparency into military equipment holdings and troop deployments in Europe, including over 4,000 on-site inspections of military units and installations implemented since the entry into force of the Treaty; Whereas, on November 19, 1999, at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Summit in Istanbul, Turkey, the parties to the CFE Treaty signed an Adaptation Agreement to account for the demise of the Warsaw Pact, the expansion of membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and other changes in the European geopolitical environment; Whereas, at the time of the signing of the Adaptation Agreement, the Russian Federation made a series of pledges, known as the Istanbul Commitments, to withdraw remaining military forces and equipment from the territory of Georgia and Moldova or to otherwise negotiate consensual agreements on their continued presence; Whereas, while the Government of the Russian Federation has taken initial steps towards fulfilling the Istanbul Commitments, it continues to maintain troops and associated equipment in both Georgia and Moldova without the express sovereign consent of the government of either of those countries, and the United States and other parties to the CFE Treaty have therefore refrained from taking steps to ratify the Adaptation Agreement; Whereas, on April 26, 2007, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, on the occasion of his last State of the Union speech, announced an unspecified moratorium on Russian compliance with the CFE Treaty, citing the refusal of NATO Members to ratify the Adaptation Agreement, concerns over the proposed United States missile defense deployment in Poland and the Czech Republic, and new basing arrangements between the Government of the United States and the Governments of Poland, Bulgaria, and Romania as unacceptable encroachments on the security of Russia; Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation subsequently requested, as is its right under the CFE Treaty, an Extraordinary Conference to discuss its outstanding concerns, which was held from June 12 to June 15, 2007; Whereas, on July 14, 2007, President Putin issued a formal decree announcing the intention of the Russian Federation to suspend compliance with the CFE Treaty after providing 150 days advance notice to the other CFE Treaty signatories; Whereas President Putin justified the decision of the Government of the Russian Federation on account of extraordinary circumstances that affect the security of the Russian Federation and require immediate measures; Whereas, while the CFE Treaty provides a formal mechanism for withdrawal of a country that is party to the Treaty following 150 days of notice, it does not contain any such provision for suspension; and Whereas the Department of State, in responding to the announcement by the Government of the Russian Federation to suspend compliance with the CFE Treaty, declared, The United States is disappointed by the Russian announcement of its intention to suspend implementation of the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty. The United States remains committed to CFE’s full implementation. We also remain committed to the ratification and entry into force of the Adapted CFE Treaty. We look forward to continuing to engage with Russia and the other States Parties to the Treaty to create the conditions necessary for ratification by all 30 CFE States.: Now, therefore, be it

That— (1)it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the announcement of the Government of the Russian Federation of its intention to suspend implementation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, signed at Paris on November 19, 1990 (the CFE Treaty), is a regrettable step and may unnecessarily heighten tensions in Europe; and (2)the House of Representatives— (A)recognizes the enduring value of the CFE Treaty as a cornerstone of European security and a force for stability in the transition of Europe from the Cold War to the modern era; (B)strongly urges the Government of the Russian Federation to reconsider its intention to suspend CFE implementation and engage with the other parties to the CFE Treaty in an intensive dialogue to resolve outstanding problems and establish a foundation for the eventual implementation of the Adaption Agreement to the CFE Treaty; (C)calls on the Russian Federation, in accordance with that process, to fulfill the Istanbul Commitments of 1999 and move speedily to withdraw all remaining forces and military equipment from Georgia and Moldova; (D)strongly encourages all parties to the CFE Treaty to engage the Russian Federation in seeking innovative and constructive mechanisms to fully implement the Istanbul Commitments and thus facilitate the rapid entry into force of the Adaptation Agreement; and (E)strongly encourages officials of the Government of the Russian Federation to refrain from belligerent statements and threats that only further polarize relations and jeopardize security in Europe.