[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 63 (Tuesday, May 4, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H2616]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           VIENNA PEACE TALKS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Brown) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Duma-U.S. 
Congressional Study Group, I want to take a moment to thank the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon) for his leadership in this 
area.
  I traveled with my colleagues to Vienna, Austria, last weekend to 
help bring cooperation between members of the Russian parliament and 
the United States Congress.
  The United States-Russian Duma Study Group was created 5 years ago, 
and I have been an active participant in the organization for the last 
3 years. As a group, our members meet to discuss national security, 
military affairs, housing, economic development and social welfare 
policies.
  The importance of the working group cannot be overstated, since 
personal relationships by members of each of the respective governments 
are created, thus permitting for greater openness and increasing trust 
between the two governing bodies of each country.
  Because Russia and Serbia have close ethnic and historical ties, I 
believe that members of the Russian Duma can play an important role in 
convincing the Serbian government to put a halt to the ethnic cleansing 
and help stop the refugee crisis.
  I believe that the humanitarian crisis cannot be solved by just a 
bombing campaign and that a diplomatic solution is much more desirable 
than military escalation. A spread of the violence will only bring 
about increasing division, hatred and resentment and violence, but a 
diplomatic solution could lead to the increase of communication and 
understanding between the two sides and save countless lives.
  As a Member of Congress, I feel that it is my responsibility to do 
everything I can within my capacity to help end this war.
  I would like to point out that the congressional delegation's 
discussions with the Duma were not meant as a slight to the 
administration nor an undermining of NATO's authority. Rather, members 
of our group traveled to Austria to increase communication between the 
warring sides and act as a conduit to the present talks taking place 
between President Clinton, foreign policy experts and members of the 
Russian Government.
  The main point of contention which I brought to the talks with the 
Russian Duma was that ethnic cleansing is, in essence, the root cause 
of the conflict. As the only mother in the room during the talks, I 
felt that it was necessary to recognize the tragedies of the refugee 
families.
  The Russian delegation originally refused to acknowledge that it was 
the ethnic cleansing that began this conflict and not the NATO bombing, 
but before they walked away from our discussion they acknowledged that 
it was the ethnic cleansing that began this conflict.
  Our discussion resulted in a framework for peace negotiations. One of 
the guidelines I would like to see during the peace negotiations is a 
cease-fire, a time-out from the fighting, so that both parties can 
refrain from fighting in order to negotiate with one another in a 
diplomatic fashion.
  In order to smooth out the road to diplomacy, the Congressional-Duma 
Study Group suggests a threefold approach to resolving the conflict. 
This includes a temporary end to the NATO bombing, along with the 
withdrawal of the Serbian Armed Forces from Kosovo and the KLA military 
activities.
  We demand a recognition of the basic principles of the territorial 
integrity of Yugoslavia, including greater autonomy for Kosovo and just 
treatment of all Yugoslavian people.

                              {time}  2030

  We also support efforts to provide international assistance to 
rebuild the destroyed homes of the refugees, as well as other 
humanitarian assistance.
  This was a productive meeting, and I am hopeful that it will not be 
our last. We are all in agreement that we want a quick and peaceful end 
to the crisis, while keeping positive relationships between Russia and 
the United States.

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