[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 124 (Tuesday, July 31, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10528-S10529]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RUSSIAN FEDERATION SUSPENSION OF CONVENTIONAL ARMED FORCES IN EUROPE 
                                 TREATY

  Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Foreign 
Relations Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 
278 and the Senate then proceed to its consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 278) regarding the announcement of 
     the Russian Federation of its suspension of implementation of 
     the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. TESTER. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, 
the preamble agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the 
table en bloc, and that any statements relating thereto be printed in 
the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 278) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 278

       Whereas the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, 
     signed at Paris November 19, 1990 (``the CFE Treaty''), was 
     agreed upon and signed by 22 States Parties in order to 
     establish predictability, transparency, and stability in the 
     balance of conventional military forces and equipment in an 
     area of Europe stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Ural 
     Mountains;
       Whereas there are now 30 States Parties to the CFE Treaty, 
     including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, 
     Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Georgia, Germany, 
     Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, 
     Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the 
     Russian Federation, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, the 
     United Kingdom, and the United States;
       Whereas the CFE Treaty is recognized as one of the most 
     successful arms control treaties of the modern era and has 
     served as a cornerstone of European security as the continent 
     emerged from the shadows of the Cold War;
       Whereas the CFE Treaty facilitated the destruction or 
     conversion of over 52,000 battle tanks, armored combat 
     vehicles, artillery pieces, combat aircraft, and attack 
     helicopters;
       Whereas the CFE Treaty continues to enable an unprecedented 
     level of transparency into military equipment holdings and 
     troop deployments in Europe, including over 4,000 on-site 
     inspections of military units and installations implemented 
     since the entry into force of the Treaty;
       Whereas, on November 19, 1999, at the Organization for 
     Security and Co-operation in Europe Summit in Istanbul, 
     Turkey, the parties to the CFE Treaty signed an Adaptation 
     Agreement to reflect the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, the 
     expansion of membership in the North Atlantic Treaty 
     Organization (``NATO''), and other changes in the European 
     geopolitical environment;
       Whereas, at the time of the signing of the Adaptation 
     Agreement, the Russian Federation made a series of pledges, 
     known as the Istanbul Commitments, to withdraw its remaining 
     military forces and equipment from the territory of Georgia 
     and Moldova or otherwise negotiate consensual agreements on 
     their continued presence;
       Whereas while the Government of the Russian Federation has 
     taken initial steps towards fulfilling the Istanbul 
     Commitments, it continues to maintain troops and associated 
     equipment in both Georgia and Moldova without the express 
     sovereign consent of the governments of either of those 
     countries, and the United States and other parties to the CFE 
     Treaty have therefore refrained from taking steps to ratify 
     the Adaptation Agreement;
       Whereas, on April 26, 2007, President of the Russian 
     Federation, Vladimir Putin, in a speech to the Federation 
     Council of the Russian Federation, announced his intention to 
     initiate an unspecified ``moratorium'' on Russian compliance 
     with the CFE Treaty, citing the refusal of NATO Members to 
     ratify the Adaptation Agreement, concerns over the proposed 
     United States missile defense deployment in Poland and the 
     Czech Republic, and new basing arrangements between the 
     United States Government and the Governments of Bulgaria and 
     Romania as unacceptable encroachments on the security of the 
     Russian Federation;
       Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation 
     subsequently requested, as is its right under the CFE Treaty, 
     an Extraordinary Conference to discuss its outstanding 
     concerns, which was held from June 12 to June 15, 2007, in 
     Vienna, Austria;
       Whereas, on July 14, 2007, President Putin issued a formal 
     decree announcing the intention of the Russian Federation to 
     suspend compliance with the CFE Treaty after providing 150 
     days advance notice to the other CFE Treaty signatories;
       Whereas President Putin justified his decision on 
     ``extraordinary circumstances'' that ``affect the security of 
     the Russian Federation and require immediate measures'';
       Whereas the CFE Treaty provides a formal mechanism for 
     withdrawal of a State Party from the Treaty following 150 
     days of notice, but does not contain any provision for 
     suspension; and

[[Page S10529]]

       Whereas the Department of State, in responding to the 
     announcement by the Government of the Russian Federation to 
     suspend compliance with the CFE Treaty, declared, ``The 
     United States is disappointed by the Russian announcement of 
     its intention to suspend implementation of the Conventional 
     Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty. The United States 
     remains committed to CFE's full implementation. We also 
     remain committed to the ratification and entry into force of 
     the Adapted CFE Treaty. We look forward to continuing to 
     engage with Russia and the other States Parties to the Treaty 
     to create the conditions necessary for ratification by all 30 
     CFE States.'': Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That--
       (1) it is the sense of the Senate that the decision of the 
     Government of the Russian Federation to suspend 
     implementation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in 
     Europe, signed at Paris November 19, 1990 (``the CFE 
     Treaty''), is a regrettable step that will unnecessarily 
     heighten tensions in Europe;
       (2) the Senate recognizes the enduring value of the CFE 
     Treaty as a cornerstone of European security and affirms its 
     support for the basic principles of transparency, 
     accountability, host country consent for the stationing of 
     foreign military forces, and the rule of law embodied in the 
     CFE Treaty and the 1999 Adaptation Agreement thereto;
       (3) the Senate strongly urges the Government of the Russian 
     Federation to reconsider its suspension of CFE implementation 
     and engage with the other parties to the CFE Treaty to 
     resolve outstanding problems and establish an agreed approach 
     leading to the eventual implementation of the Adaption 
     Agreement to the CFE Treaty;
       (4) the Senate calls on the Russian Federation to fulfill 
     its Istanbul Commitments of 1999 and move speedily to 
     withdraw all remaining forces and military equipment from 
     Georgia and Moldova;
       (5) the Senate encourages all parties to the CFE Treaty to 
     engage the Russian Federation in seeking innovative and 
     constructive mechanisms to fully implement the Istanbul 
     Commitments, consistent with the principles and objectives of 
     the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) 
     and making full use of OSCE mechanisms;
       (6) the Senate calls on all States Parties to ensure that 
     the resolution of the current disputes surrounding the CFE 
     Treaty be considered a priority at the highest political 
     levels, recognizing that the CFE Treaty is important both as 
     an arms control treaty and as an essential building block for 
     stable relations between the Russian Federation and 
     neighboring countries in Europe; and
       (7) the Senate encourages officials of the Government of 
     the Russian Federation to refrain from belligerent statements 
     that only further polarize relations and jeopardize security 
     in Europe.

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