[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 55 (Thursday, March 29, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4213-S4216]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 135--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT THE 
          UNITED STATES SHOULD SUPPORT INDEPENDENCE FOR KOSOVO

  Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself, Mr. Biden, Mr. McCain, and Mr. Smith) 
submitted the followoing resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 135

       Whereas the United States has enduring national interests 
     in the peace and security of southeastern Europe, and in the 
     greater integration of the region into the Euro-Atlantic 
     community of democratic, well-governed states;

[[Page S4216]]

       Whereas, in March 1999, the United States, along with other 
     members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), 
     commenced military action aimed at ending Slobodan 
     Milosevic's brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing against the 
     people of Kosovo;
       Whereas that military action resulted in the defeat of Serb 
     forces and the creation of the United Nations Mission in 
     Kosovo, an interim United Nations administration that governs 
     Kosovo, and which ended, de facto, the sovereignty that was 
     previously exercised by the Government of the Federal 
     Republic of Yugoslavia over Kosovo;
       Whereas the men and women of the Armed Forces of the United 
     States have served bravely in Kosovo since 1999, and their 
     presence and participation in the NATO-led Kosovo Force has 
     been indispensable in protecting the people of Kosovo and 
     stabilizing the region;
       Whereas United Nations administration was never intended 
     nor understood as a permanent solution to the political 
     status of Kosovo;
       Whereas, in light of NATO's military intervention in Kosovo 
     and the United Nations trusteeship established in Kosovo 
     pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 
     (1999), the international community has recognized the 
     political circumstances in Kosovo as unique, and the 
     settlement of Kosovo's status therefore does not establish a 
     precedent for the resolution of other conflicts;
       Whereas continuing uncertainty about the status of Kosovo 
     is unacceptable to the overwhelming majority of the 
     inhabitants of Kosovo, inhibits economic and political 
     development in Kosovo, and contributes to instability and 
     radicalism in both Kosovo and Serbia;
       Whereas, in 2005, the United Nations Secretary-General 
     appointed the former President of Finland, Martti Ahtisaari, 
     as United Nations Special Envoy for Kosovo to develop a 
     comprehensive settlement proposal to resolve the political 
     status of Kosovo;
       Whereas, in March 2007, after 14 months of intensive 
     diplomacy, Special Envoy Ahtisaari submitted to the Security 
     Council a comprehensive settlement proposal that would result 
     in supervised independence for Kosovo, with robust 
     protections for the rights of minorities; and
       Whereas Special Envoy Ahtisaari has explored every 
     reasonable avenue for compromise in the course of his 
     diplomacy and has stated that further negotiations would be 
     counterproductive: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) the United States should support the independence of 
     Kosovo in accordance with its currently constituted borders, 
     a resolution that represents the only just, sustainable 
     solution for an economically viable and politically stable 
     Kosovo;
       (2) the United States should, in consultation and 
     cooperation with its allies, vigorously and promptly pursue a 
     United Nations Security Council resolution that endorses the 
     recommendations of United Nations Special Envoy for Kosovo 
     Martti Ahtisaari;
       (3) in the absence of timely action by the United Nations 
     Security Council, the United States should be prepared to act 
     in conjunction with like-minded democracies to confer 
     diplomatic recognition on, and establish full diplomatic 
     relations with, Kosovo as an independent state, much as the 
     United States worked in cooperation with like-minded 
     democracies to protect the people of Kosovo in 1999;
       (4) the United States should oppose any delay in the 
     resolution of the political status of Kosovo as 
     counterproductive, potentially dangerous, and likely to make 
     the achievement of a lasting settlement more difficult;
       (5) the United States should work together with the 
     European Union as a full partner in supporting the political 
     and economic development of an independent Kosovo;
       (6) the United States should support the integration of 
     Kosovo into international and Euro-Atlantic institutions, 
     including its timely admission to the Partnership for Peace 
     program of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), 
     with the ultimate goal of full membership in NATO;
       (7) the United States should reaffirm its commitment to 
     southeastern Europe, including the continuation of the 
     military mission in Kosovo to deter and disrupt any efforts 
     by any party to destabilize the region through violence;
       (8) the Government of Kosovo should exercise responsible 
     leadership under supervised independence and thereby 
     accelerate the transition to full independence, taking 
     particular care to reassure, protect, and ensure the full 
     political and economic rights of Serb and other minority 
     communities in Kosovo;
       (9) the Government of Kosovo should make every reasonable 
     effort to develop a cooperative relationship with the 
     Government of Serbia, in recognition of its legitimate 
     interests in the safety of the Serb population in Kosovo and 
     in the protection and preservation of the patrimonial sites 
     of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo; and
       (10) the Government of Serbia should exercise responsible 
     leadership and seize the opportunity and the imperative 
     presented by the independence of Kosovo to end the dark 
     chapter of the 1990s and focus its energies toward achieving 
     a prosperous and peaceful future through regional cooperation 
     and integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions, including 
     NATO and the European Union, and toward the establishment of 
     open, constructive relations with the government of Kosovo.

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