[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 115 (Monday, July 14, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6653-S6654]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    SENATE RESOLUTION 612--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT 
  PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT DMITRY MEDVEDEV OF THE RUSSIAN 
  FEDERATION, AND OTHER PARTICIPANTS IN THE 2008 GROUP OF EIGHT (G8) 
SUMMIT IN TOYAKO, HOKKAIDO, JAPAN SHOULD WORK TOGETHER TO FOSTER A MORE 
   CONSTRUCTIVE RELATIONSHIP, AND THAT THE GOVERNMENT OF THE RUSSIAN 
   FEDERATION SHOULD ESCHEW BEHAVIORS THAT ARE INCONSISTENT WITH THE 
 GROUP'S OBJECTIVES OF PROTECTING GLOBAL SECURITY, ECONOMIC STABILITY, 
                             AND DEMOCRACY

  Mr. BIDEN (for himself, Mr. Kerry, and Mr. Casey) submitted the 
following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 612

       Whereas the leaders of 6 major industrialized democracies, 
     including France, West Germany, Italy, Japan, the United 
     Kingdom, and the United States, gathered in 1975 for a summit 
     meeting in Rambouillet, France, and for annual meetings 
     thereafter under a rotating presidency known as the Group of 
     Six (G6);
       Whereas the G6 was established based on the mutual interest 
     of its members in promoting economic stability, global 
     security, and democracy;
       Whereas, in 1976, membership of the G6 was expanded to 
     include Canada;
       Whereas the members of the G7 share a commitment to promote 
     security, economic stability, and democracy in their 
     respective nations and around the world;
       Whereas Russia was integrated into the G7 in 1998 at the 
     behest of President William Jefferson Clinton following 
     Russian President Boris Yeltsin's decision to pursue reforms 
     and assume a neutral position on the acceptance of additional 
     members into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO);
       Whereas the members of the G8 face common challenges, 
     including climate change, violent extremism, global economic 
     volatility, pandemic disease, nuclear proliferation, and 
     trafficking in narcotics, persons, and weapons of mass 
     destruction;
       Whereas President Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister Vladimir 
     Putin, and other leaders of the Russian Federation have 
     regularly expressed a desire for the Russian Federation to 
     play a leading role in international affairs;
       Whereas the Russian Federation and other members of the 
     international community all stand to benefit if the Russian 
     Federation is an active, constructive partner in addressing 
     the broad range of challenges confronting the global 
     community;
       Whereas the Russian Federation has evidenced the capacity 
     and willingness to cooperate with the United States and other 
     nations in the interest of global security in certain areas 
     pertaining to arms control and weapons proliferation, notably 
     through its participation in the Six-Party Talks regarding 
     North Korea and its support of the incentives package offered 
     by leading countries to Iran if that country would suspend 
     its uranium enrichment program;
       Whereas the United States and Russia have safely 
     deactivated and destroyed thousands of nuclear, chemical, and 
     biological weapons and provided upgraded storage and 
     transportation of nuclear materials through the Nunn-Lugar 
     program;
       Whereas the United States and other countries participating 
     in the June 2002 G8 Summit in Kananaskis, Canada agreed to 
     raise up to $20,000,000,000 over 10 years to support 
     nonproliferation projects in Russia and other nations through 
     the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and 
     Materials of Mass Destruction;
       Whereas participants in the July 2006 G8 Summit in St. 
     Petersburg, Russia launched the Global Initiative to Combat 
     Nuclear Terrorism to improve the physical protection of 
     nuclear materials, suppress illicit trafficking of such 
     materials, and bolster the capacity of willing partner 
     nations to respond to acts of nuclear terrorism;
       Whereas the United States and the Government of the Russian 
     Federation pledged in the April 2008 Sochi Strategic 
     Framework Declaration to negotiate a ``legally binding post-
     START arrangement'' for the purposes of extending provisions 
     of the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty;
       Whereas, notwithstanding these successes, the potential for 
     collaboration between the United States and the Government of 
     Russian Federation has been seriously undermined by the 
     manner in which the leaders of the Russian Federation have 
     conducted aspects of Russia's foreign policy;
       Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has 
     unilaterally suspended implementation of the 1991 Treaty on 
     Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE Treaty) and has yet 
     to fulfill its commitment to withdraw Russian forces from 
     Georgia and Moldova pursuant to the 1999 Istanbul Summit 
     Declaration of the Organization for Security and Cooperation 
     in Europe;
       Whereas the CFE Treaty has played a key role in enhancing 
     the stability of the Euro-Atlantic region;
       Whereas the Adapted CFE Treaty, which will not enter into 
     force until the Russian Federation fulfills commitments made 
     at the Istanbul Summit, will provide greater flexibility for 
     the Russian Federation in return for improved transparency 
     and verification;
       Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has 
     attempted to undermine the territorial integrity of the 
     Republic of Georgia through its support of the breakaway 
     provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia;
       Whereas the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia has 
     concluded that a military aircraft belonging to the Russian 
     Federation shot down an unarmed Georgian drone on April 20, 
     2008, while flying over Abkhazia;
       Whereas the conduct of Russian trade and energy policy has 
     created a widespread perception that the Government of the 
     Russian Federation is using oil and gas exports and economic 
     policy as a means of political pressure on countries that 
     seek closer ties with the United States and Euro-Atlantic 
     partners;
       Whereas the behavior of the Russian Federation as it 
     relates to several neighboring countries has contributed to 
     the erosion of regional peace and security;
       Whereas such actions are inconsistent with the G8's 
     objectives of protecting global security, economic stability, 
     and democracy, hinder cooperation with the Government of the 
     Russian Federation, and undermine the standing of the Russian 
     Federation as a respected member of the international 
     community;
       Whereas there has been considerable disagreement between 
     the Government of the United States and the Government of the 
     Russian Federation regarding proposals to place ballistic 
     missile defense interceptor and radar sites in Poland and the 
     Czech Republic, respectively;
       Whereas certain developments inside the Russian Federation 
     and the Russian Government's conduct of domestic policy have 
     undermined confidence in the Russian Federation's ability and 
     capability to serve as a full partner in the work of the 
     international community;
       Whereas the Department of State's Country Report on Human 
     Rights Practices for 2007 stated that, in Russia, 
     ``continuing centralization of power in the executive branch, 
     a compliant State Duma, corruption and selectivity in 
     enforcement of the law, media restrictions, and harassment of 
     some NGOs eroded the government's accountability to its 
     citizens.'';
       Whereas, in June 2008, a report released by Human Rights 
     Watch concluded that Russian ``law enforcement and security 
     forces involved in counterinsurgency [in the North Caucasus] 
     have committed dozens of extrajudicial executions, summary 
     and arbitrary detentions, and acts of torture and cruel, 
     inhuman or degrading treatment'';
       Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has failed 
     to successfully prosecute individuals responsible for the 
     murder of critics of the Kremlin, including journalist Anna 
     Politkovskaya and Alexander Litvinenko;
       Whereas the 2008 Annual Report of Reporters without Borders 
     noted a sharp increase in government pressure on the 
     independent media in Russia, reporting that at least 2 
     journalists were forcibly sent to psychiatric hospitals in 
     2007 and others were badly beaten or kidnapped prior to the 
     local and parliamentary elections in 2007;
       Whereas Transparency International ranked Russia 143 out of 
     179 countries for perceived corruption in 2007;
       Whereas there is increasing concern about violent 
     nationalism and xenophobia in the Russian Federation and the 
     2008 Annual Report of the United States Commission on 
     International Religious Freedom reports that there has been a 
     ``sharp rise in violent

[[Page S6654]]

     crimes against persons [in Russia] on account of their 
     religion or ethnicity'';
       Whereas, in the handling of the Yukos Oil Company case and 
     numerous other judicial actions, the Government of the 
     Russian Federation has permitted the politicization of 
     Russia's legal system;
       Whereas these developments have seriously damaged 
     international confidence in the institutions and laws of the 
     Russian Federation and hindered the ability of the United 
     States and other partners to work with the Russian Federation 
     in addressing a broad range of pressing global, regional, and 
     domestic challenges;
       Whereas the people of the Russian Federation and the people 
     of the United States have been disadvantaged by the resulting 
     damage to relations between the countries;
       Whereas President Dmitry Medvedev, in an interview with the 
     Reuters News Service on June 25, 2008, stated that ``freedom, 
     democracy and the right to private property'' should define 
     Russia's behavior;
       Whereas the United States believes that adherence on the 
     part of the Government of the Russian Federation to the 
     values articulated by President Medvedev would provide a 
     foundation for improved cooperation with the Russian 
     Federation;
       Whereas adherence to the values articulated by President 
     Medvedev would also help repair damage to the international 
     reputation of the Russian Federation and advance the goals of 
     security, prosperity, and representative governance that 
     should be the common ambition of all members of the G8;
       Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) in order to build a more constructive relationship with 
     the Government of the Russian Federation and its people, the 
     President of the United States and other leaders of the G8 
     nations should--
       (A) pursue a broad agenda of cooperation with the leaders 
     of the Russian Federation; and
       (B) encourage Russia's transformation into a more liberal 
     and democratic polity;
       (2) the Government of the United States and the Government 
     of the Russian Federation should work to ensure the continued 
     success of Nunn-Lugar initiatives and nonproliferation and 
     counterterrorism programs through--
       (A) additional funding;
       (B) access to sensitive facilities;
       (C) effective safety and security measures to prevent 
     proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons 
     and weapons-related materials and technology; and
       (D) cooperation between the United States and Russia to 
     enhance these objectives on a worldwide basis;
       (3) the Government of the United States and the Government 
     of the Russian Federation, working within the International 
     Atomic Energy Agency and United Nations Security Council, 
     should renew demands for Iran to cease its nuclear enrichment 
     activities and fully disclose any prior weapons-related work;
       (4) the Government of the United States and the Government 
     of the Russian Federation should negotiate a legally-binding 
     successor agreement to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reductions 
     Treaty and address all outstanding concerns regarding the 
     1991 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe;
       (5) the leaders of the Russian Federation should adopt 
     foreign and domestic policies that are consistent with 
     ``freedom, democracy and the right to private property'', as 
     articulated by President Dmitry Medvedev;
       (6) the Government of the Russian Federation should take 
     immediate steps to restore the freedom and independence of 
     the country's media in accordance with its obligations under 
     the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;
       (7) the Government and officials of the Russian Federation 
     should refrain from portraying the North Atlantic Treaty 
     Organization (NATO) as a threat to the Russian Federation and 
     fully utilize the consultative mechanisms that exist through 
     the NATO-Russia Council to facilitate cooperation between the 
     countries of NATO and the Russian Federation;
       (8) the United States, in coordination with other members 
     of the G8, should--
       (A) encourage the Government of the Russian Federation to 
     address the challenges facing its society, including 
     widespread corruption, a deteriorating health care system, 
     growing instability in the North Caucasus, and an 
     increasingly serious demographic crisis; and
       (B) stand ready to assist the people and Government of the 
     Russian Federation in those efforts;
       (9) just as the United States welcomed the increasing 
     prosperity and political development of Germany, Japan, and 
     the nations Eastern Europe in the aftermath of former 
     conflicts, the United States should welcome the emergence of 
     the Russian Federation as a strong, successful, democratic 
     partner in addressing global challenges; and
       (10) the leaders of the Russian Federation should respect 
     the rights of sovereign, democratic governments in 
     neighboring countries and their prerogative to seek 
     membership in Euro-Atlantic institutions.

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