[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 135 (Thursday, September 26, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H11239-H11241]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           CONCERNING REMOVAL OF RUSSIAN FORCES FROM MOLDOVA

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 145) concerning the removal of 
Russian Armed Forces from Moldova.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 145

       Whereas the United States Government has recognized and 
     continues to emphasize its commitment to the independence and 
     territorial integrity of the sovereign nation of Moldova;
       Whereas units of the former Soviet 14th Army of the Russian 
     Federation continue to be deployed on the territory of the 
     sovereign nation of Moldova against the wishes of the 
     government and the majority of the people of Moldova;
       Whereas the Prime Minister of Russia and the Prime Minister 
     of Moldova signed an agreement on October 21, 1994, according 
     to which Russia would withdraw its military forces from 
     Moldova within three years;
       Whereas in the period since the agreement was signed, there 
     have been negligible force reductions of the Russian Army in 
     Moldova;
       Whereas the Organization on Security and Cooperation in 
     Europe has been engaged in efforts to resolve differences 
     between the Government of Moldova and the authorities of the 
     Transdniestria region where the Russian Army continues to be 
     deployed, and the Government of Ukraine has offered to use 
     its good offices to assist in these efforts; and
       Whereas the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization on 
     Security and Cooperation in Europe has passed a resolution 
     calling for the ``most rapid, continuing, unconditional, and 
     full withdrawal'' of the 14th Army of the Russian Federation: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That the Congress--
       (1) calls upon the Government of the Russian Federation to 
     adhere to the provisions of the troop withdrawal agreement 
     signed on October 21, 1994;
       (2) welcomes recent statements by the Administration 
     supporting Moldova's territorial integrity, and urges the 
     Secretary of State to use every appropriate opportunity and 
     means, including multilateral and bilateral diplomacy, to 
     secure removal of Russian military forces from Moldova in 
     accordance with the terms of the troop withdrawal agreement;
       (3) urges all of Moldova's neighboring countries to 
     recognize the sovereignty and territorial integrity of 
     Moldova; and
       (4) urges the Organization for Security and Cooperation in 
     Europe to continue its efforts in resolving differences 
     between the government of Moldova and the authorities of the 
     Transdniestria region, and welcomes the offer by the 
     Government of Ukraine to assist in these efforts.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York [Mr. Gilman] and the gentleman from American Samoa [Mr. 
Faleomavaega] each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York [Mr. Gilman].
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Concurrent Resolution 145, 
which calls for the withdrawal of Russian troops from the sovereign and 
independent state of Moldova.
  House Concurrent Resolution 145 speaks to the situation in Moldova 
with regard to the unwanted presence of Russian troops there, but, in 
speaking to that specific case, the resolution touches on a much larger 
problem concerning Russia's relations with its neighbors.
  Mr. Speaker, the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 left Russia with 
access to a number of Soviet military facilities located on the 
territory of New Independent States such as Moldova. Unfortunately, for 
the last 3 years, rather than working sincerely to withdraw from those 
facilities, Russia has become more intent on maintaining its control of 
such bases.
  To persuade these New Independent States to agree to such military 
bases, Russia has employed economic pressure and manipulation of ethnic 
conflicts, real and potential, in those states.
  While Georgia and Armenia have now agreed to Russian military bases 
and border guards, Moldova and its eastern neighbor, Ukraine, are still 
seeking the removal of Russian-controlled military facilities from 
their territory.
  On September 4, the House of Representatives passed House Concurrent 
Resolution 120, which calls on Russia to recognize Ukraine's 
sovereignty. The resolution before the House today calls on all of 
Moldova's neighbors to recognize its sovereignty--and on Russia to 
remove its military units form Moldova.
  That is the right thing for Russia to do, particularly if it insists 
that the rest of the world respect Russia's own sovereignty.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to commend my colleague on the House 
International Relations Committee, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, for his 
work to bring this resolution to the floor today.
  I hope that it will enjoy the support of all of my colleagues.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution 
and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I commend the chairman of the Committee on International Relations 
and certainly the gentleman from New Jersey, who is the chief sponsor 
of this resolution, for bringing it before the floor of the House.
  The conflict in Moldova has gone on too long, Mr. Speaker. The sides 
should intensify efforts to reach a political solution. Russian troops 
are in Moldova against the expressed wish of the Moldovan Government. 
Russia agreed and signed an agreement to withdraw its forces. The 
Congress here is calling on Russia to do the right thing and abide by 
that agreement.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Smith], the distinguished subcommittee 
chairman of our committee.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, the 
gentleman from New York [Mr. Gilman], for yielding me this time, and I

[[Page H11240]]

want to thank him for his help and the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. 
Hamilton], in bringing House Concurrent Resolution 145 which calls upon 
the Russian Government to remove its armed forces from the sovereign 
nation of Moldova.
  The Government of the Russian Federation is being called upon to 
adhere to its agreement of October 21, 1994, with the Moldovan 
Government and withdraw its military forces and equipment from Moldova 
within a 3-year timeframe. The resolution further urges the Secretary 
of State to use every appropriate opportunity and means to secure such 
removal, urges all of the Moldovan neighbors to recognize the 
sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Moldova and urges the 
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to continue its 
efforts in resolving the differences between that country and its 
neighbors to welcome the offer of the Government of Ukraine to assist 
in those efforts.
  Mr. Speaker, very simply, Moldova, a nation which recently celebrated 
its fifth year of independence, is the last of the New Independent 
States in which Russian military forces are stationed without a 
specific agreement with the host government for their deployment. These 
forces, estimated at between 5,000 to 6,000 soldiers, are the remnants 
of the Soviet 14th Army stationed exclusively in the eastern region of 
Moldova.
  While some Russian equipment has reportedly been moved out and some 
ammunition has been destroyed, there has been little progress in the 
removal of the military personnel, as called for in the 1994 agreement.
  Mr. Speaker, the administration has indicated its support for this 
resolution and, hopefully, this pressure, this push, combined with 
statements by the Council of Europe and others will let the Russians 
know that we are very serious. This vestige of Russian troops who 
remain there needs to leave. They are not wanted, they are not welcome 
and they are certainly not needed. This resolution puts us on record in 
that regard.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support House Concurrent 
Resolution 145, which calls upon the Russian Government to remove its 
armed forces from the sovereign nation of Moldova. I thank Mr. Gilman, 
chairman of the House International Relations Committee, and Mr. 
Hamilton, the ranking minority member of the committee, for their 
support for this resolution.
  The Government of the Russian Federation is being called upon to 
adhere to its agreement of October 21, 1994, with the Moldovan 
Government and withdraw its military forces and equipment from Moldova 
within a 3-year timeframe. The resolution further urges the Secretary 
of State to use every appropriate opportunity and means to secure such 
removal; urges all of Moldova's neighbors to recognize the sovereignty 
and territorial integrity of Moldova; urges the Organization for 
Security and Cooperation in Europe [OSCE] to continue its efforts in 
resolving differences between the Government of Moldova and the 
authorities of the Transdniestria region; and welcomes the offer by the 
Government of Ukraine to assist in these efforts.
  Mr. Speaker, Moldova, a nation which recently celebrated its fifth 
year of independence, is the last of the New Independent States in 
which Russian military forces are stationed without a specific 
agreement with the host government for their deployment. These forces, 
estimated at between 5,000 and 6,000, are the remnants of the Soviet 
14th Army, stationed exclusively in the eastern Transdniestria region 
of Moldova. While some Russian equipment has reportedly been moved out, 
and some ammunition has been destroyed, there has been little progress 
in the removal of military personnel, as called for in the 1994 
agreement.
  Mr. Speaker, the administration has indicated its support for this 
resolution. During his meeting with Moldovan President Snegur in 
February 1995, President Clinton stated that the United States expects 
the 1994 agreement to be implemented on time. The State Department has 
reported that it ``intends to continue to take advantage of every 
opportunity to encourage the removal of Russian military forces from 
Moldova in accordance with the terms of the troop withdrawal 
agreement.''
  The Moldovan Government supports this resolution.
  Our European friends are also concerned about this issue. Both the 
OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Council of Europe have passed 
resolutions calling for the removal of the Russian military forces from 
Moldova.
  Although the Russian Duma has yet to approve the 1994 treaty, the 
Russian Government is on record as saying it expects to abide by the 
agreement. Moreover, when the Russian Federation was admitted into the 
Council of Europe earlier this year, one of the stipulations for 
admission was that Russia would, and I quote:

       * * * ratify, in a period of sic months after the 
     accessions of Russia to the Council of Europe, the Agreement 
     of 21 October 1994 between the Russian and Moldovan 
     Governments to continue the withdrawal of the 14th Army and 
     its equipment from the territory of Moldova, within a time-
     limit of three years from the date of signature of the 
     agreement.

  Having agreed to this, and several other stipulations for membership, 
the Russian Federation became a member of the Council of Europe on 
February 28, 1996.
  Mr. Speaker, the pending resolution does not attempt to dictate 
foreign policy to the Russian Federation, but merely asks the Russian 
Government to fulfill the agreement it made in 1994. In an era when 
NATO is exploring establishment of a special security relationship with 
Russia, I believe we should go on record expressing our concern that 
Moscow should act in good faith and remove its military forces from a 
sovereign state which poses no threat to Russian security.
  Simply put, Russian armed forces are neither wanted nor needed in 
Moldova. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from New York [Mr. Solomon], the distinguished chairman of 
the Committee on Rules, a former member of our House Committee on 
International Relations.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey for his 
supportive remarks.
  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I certainly thank the chairman of the 
Committee on International Relations, the gentleman from New York [Mr. 
Gilman], and I want to tell the gentleman I still miss that committee. 
It is still one of the best committees in the Congress to serve on.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. SOLOMON. I yield to the gentleman from New York.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I want the gentleman to know that we miss 
his indulgence and work on our committee.
  Mr. SOLOMON. I thank the gentleman.
  Mr. Speaker, today, like the other Members, I am rising to support 
this resolution calling for the removal of Russian troops from Moldova, 
and I commend the gentleman from New Jersey, Mr. Smith, for taking the 
lead on a very vital and important issue, especially Chairman Gilman, 
for his leadership on all of these important issues.
  Mr. Speaker, there is a forgotten country in Europe and it is called 
Moldova. In 1939 when Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin conspired to 
carve up Central Europe, a place called Moldova was ceded, so to speak, 
to the Soviet Union, and that was a disgrace.
  Subsequent to this insidious and evil Nazi-Soviet Pact, Stalin's Red 
army invaded and annexed Moldova along with eastern Poland and the 
Baltic States as well. Some of the worst human rights violations in the 
history of this whole world took place after that happened. As we all 
know, Poland received its freedom and independence in 1989 with Soviet 
troops leaving shortly thereafter. The Baltic States gained their 
independence in 1991 though Russian troops intransigently remained 
until 1994.
  Forgotten in our joy over these positive developments, however, is 
the fact that tiny Moldova, though it gained its independence in 1991, 
remains occupied by 7,000 troops of the Russian 14th Army, partly paid 
for by American foreign aid dollars, and that is the disgraceful part 
of this whole thing. They have no more right to be there today than 
Stalin did almost 50 years ago.
  Frankly, when you consider that we are giving the Russian Government 
tens of billions of American taxpayer dollars, we should demand that 
the Russians leave Moldova. They ought to leave today, not tomorrow or 
new week or next month or next year.
  The Moldovans have a right to get on with the task of building their 
new democracy without outside interference. By all reports, Moldova is 
handling this task quite well, all things considered. Moldova has 
received high marks from the administration for its economic reform 
efforts, has made good strides toward establishing democratic 
institutions and has been a good neighbor in the region of Central 
Europe and

[[Page H11241]]

has been a vigorous participant in NATO-related activities, NATO-
related activities which keep peace in the whole area.
  Moldova's desire to become a part of Western institutions, Mr. 
Speaker, is so important, and for that we should be grateful. For that 
we should support Moldova's efforts to free itself from Russian 
occupation.
  We can serve both of these ends by passing this resolution 
unanimously here today, and I urge support for that. Again my hat is 
off to Chairman Gilman and to the gentleman from New Jersey, Chris 
Smith, for bringing this vital legislation to this floor.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to 
thank the gentleman from New York [Mr. Solomon] for his supportive 
remarks. He has been a consistent supporter of doing the right thing in 
the former Soviet states.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time, and I again urge the adoption 
of this resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New York [Mr. Gilman] that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the concurrent resolution, House Concurrent Resolution 
145.
  The question was taken.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 5 of rule I and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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