[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 63 (Tuesday, May 4, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H2561]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    SUPPORT JOINT EFFORT OF CONGRESSIONAL MEMBERS AND RUSSIAN DUMA 
             COUNTERPARTS TO FIND SOLUTION TO BALKAN CRISIS

  (Mr. GIBBONS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, a window of opportunity to find a peaceful 
solution to this conflict in Kosovo was opened this weekend in Vienna, 
Austria.
  For my congressional colleagues and my Russian Duma counterparts who 
participated, those meetings represent a real and attainable step 
toward a lasting peace.
  Obviously, this conflict represents one of the most serious 
challenges to international security since World War II. Most Members 
realize the power that many constructive Russian-American efforts can 
offer in finding a solution.
  In that light, this bilateral conference agreed on a course of action 
which would withdraw Serbian troops from Kosovo, cease all military 
activities of the KLA, and end NATO bombing.
  Once these measures are complete, the repatriation of the refugees, 
administered by an international peacekeeping force and the 
international community, can begin the healing and rebuilding process.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to support this joint 
effort to find a diplomatic solution to the Balkans crisis because, in 
my mind, peace is an exit strategy everyone can understand.

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