[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 63 (Tuesday, May 4, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H2618-H2619]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 BIPARTISAN DELEGATION TRAVELS TO BRUSSELS TO SEEK PEACE IN THE FORMER 
                               YUGOSLAVIA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Abercrombie) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the other Members who 
are here this evening. I will not take the full time, but I will merely 
read a brief excerpt as an addendum to the remarks that have been made 
at this point.
  We are very grateful to our colleagues who are here on another matter 
tonight who have graciously consented to allow this interruption 
because of the serious nature of the business that was conducted this 
past weekend.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to read just some excerpts from a letter 
addressed to the ranking member of the Committee on Armed Services, the 
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Ike Skelton), a letter sent to him today 
in conjunction with the report that the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Kucinich) just cited and the activities that we engaged in in Vienna 
this past weekend.
  The letter was a cover letter also containing the resolution that we 
expect to bring forward to all of our colleagues here on the floor 
shortly that we hope will provide a path towards reconciliation and 
resolution of the crisis in Kosovo.
  Mr. Speaker, I will just read briefly from the letter:

       Dear Ike, as you are aware, I recently returned from a trip 
     to Vienna as the senior Democrat on a congressional 
     delegation that met with the leadership of the Russian Duma. 
     My earlier trip to the region prompted me to lead a group 
     comprised of Corinne Brown, Maurice Hinchey, and Dennis 
     Kucinich. Since you are the ranking member on the Committee 
     on Armed Services, I wanted you to have a copy of the report 
     of the meetings to review.
       Not only did we arrive at a viable framework around which 
     the Congress and the Duma can facilitate an end to the 
     violence in the Balkans, we learned much from our Russian 
     colleagues. Our Duma counterparts represented the full 
     spectrum of ideology and Russian politics. Together we 
     reached agreement on three important components of peace and 
     a possible road to implementation.
       More than ever, I am convinced that the road to peace is 
     through Moscow. Without movement towards peace, I see 
     escalating costs, increasingly convoluted options, and 
     unacceptable casualties just over the horizon.
       Undermining the Administration's objectives was certainly 
     not our desire, and I wish to reiterate that the delegation 
     was not on a mission to negotiate peace. Instead, we were on 
     a mission to reach out to our Russian counterparts. Because 
     of her unique historic and cultural ties to Serbia, Russia 
     has the credentials to act as an intermediary in achieving a 
     negotiated peace in the Balkans.

  Mr. Speaker, I submit this letter for the Record.
  The letter referred to is as follows:

[[Page H2619]]

                                                 Neil Abercrombie,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                      Washington, DC, May 4, 1999.
     Hon. Ike Skelton,
     Rayburn House Office Building,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Skelton: As you are aware, I recently 
     returned from a trip to Vienna as the senior Democrat on a 
     Congressional delegation that met with leadership of the 
     Russian Duma. My earlier trip to the region prompted me to 
     lead a group comprised of Corrine Brown, Maurice Hinchey, and 
     Dennis Kucinich. Since you are the ranking Member of the 
     Committee on Armed Services, I wanted you to have a copy of 
     the report of the meetings to review.
       Not only did we arrive at a viable framework around which 
     the Congress and the Duma can facilitate an end to the 
     violence in the Balkans, we learned much from our Russian 
     colleagues. Our Duma counterparts represented the full 
     spectrum of ideology and Russian politics. Together we 
     reached agreement on three important components of peace and 
     a possible road to implementation. More than ever, I am 
     convinced that the road to peace is through Moscow. Without 
     movement toward peace, I see escalating costs, increasingly 
     convoluted options, and unacceptable casualties just over the 
     horizon.
       Undermining the administration's objectives was certainly 
     not our desire, and I wish to reiterate that the delegation 
     was not on a mission to negotiate peace. Instead, we were on 
     a mission to reach out to our Russian counterparts. Because 
     of her unique historic and cultural ties with Serbia, Russia 
     has the credentials to act as an intermediary in achieving a 
     negotiated peace in the Balkans.
       The bipartisan delegation prepared a resolution expressing 
     the sense of Congress in supporting the recommendations of 
     the Vienna meeting to bring about a fair, equitable and 
     peaceful settlement in Yugoslavia. That draft resolution is 
     attached. Additionally, I have attached a letter I sent to 
     minority Leader Gephardt. I ask that you also support a 
     bipartisan caucus so that the delegation can brief all 
     members of Congress. Absent a bipartisan caucus, I ask your 
     support for the delegation to brief the Armed Services 
     Committee.
       This meeting with members of the Duma represents a 
     singularly important step toward a negotiated solution. I 
     seek your counsel and recommendations on how to best proceed.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Neil Abercrombie,
                                               Member of Congress.

  Mr. Speaker, I wish to conclude my remarks by merely saying that the 
road to the resolution of this crisis is not in Belgrade and is not in 
Brussels, but is in fact in Moscow.

                              {time}  2045

  The 11 of us, the bipartisan delegation which went to Vienna, had as 
its sole purpose the reaching out to the Members of the Russian Duma in 
an attempt to bring resolution to this crisis and bring it to a 
resolution at the earliest possible moment.
  Mr. Speaker, thank you for the time and I thank my colleagues for 
their generosity in providing it.

                          ____________________