[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 11, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1520-S1521]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 378--CONDEMNING ILLEGAL RUSSIAN AGGRESSION IN UKRAINE

  Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Coats, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Corker, Mr. 
Brown, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Warner, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Murphy, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. 
Barrasso, Mr. Inhofe, Ms. Collins, Mr. Kirk, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Coons, Mr. 
Boozman, Mr. Johnson of Wisconsin, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Markey, Ms. 
Klobuchar, Mr. Portman, Mr. Johanns, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Isakson, Ms. 
Ayotte, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Cruz, Mr. McCain, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. 
Roberts, and Mr. Risch) submitted the following resolution; which was 
considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 378

       Whereas the recent unprovoked Russian military occupation 
     of the Crimea region of Ukraine, and further military threats 
     against additional Ukrainian territory, are an affront to 
     international norms and agreements and a threat to global 
     peace and security;
       Whereas, under President Vladimir Putin, the Russian 
     Federation has a history of bullying neighboring countries in 
     an attempt to rebuild Russian dominance on its borders--often 
     under the guise of protecting Russian

[[Page S1521]]

     citizens--including forcibly seizing the South Ossetia and 
     Abkhazia regions of the independent Republic of Georgia in 
     2008;
       Whereas the Russian Federation continues to illegally 
     occupy South Ossetia and Abkhazia and has erected fences 
     along administrative boundary lines and permanent military 
     bases in violation of the cease fire agreement negotiated 
     with the European Union;
       Whereas, during 2013, then-President of Ukraine Viktor 
     Yanukovych faced similar Russian coercion to not sign a long-
     negotiated Association Agreement with the European Union, 
     including threats to gas contracts, the supply of which the 
     Russian Federation turned off in 2006 and 2009;
       Whereas, in November 2013, President Yanukovych abruptly 
     canceled plans to sign the Association Agreement, saying 
     Ukraine could not afford to sacrifice trade with the Russian 
     Federation as a result;
       Whereas, for three ensuing months, hundreds of thousands of 
     protesters in Ukraine endured cold and government harassment 
     and violence to protest the decision and demand closer ties 
     to the West;
       Whereas, on February 20, 2014, Ukrainian security forces, 
     including heavily armed snipers, fired on demonstrators in 
     Kyiv, leaving dozens dead and the people of Ukraine reeling 
     from the most lethal day of violence since the Soviet era, 
     and many of Yanukovych's political allies, including the 
     mayor of the Kyiv, resigned from his governing Party of 
     Regions to protest the bloodshed;
       Whereas, on February 22, 2014, the Ukrainian parliament 
     found then-President Yanukovych unable to fulfill his duties, 
     exercised its constitutional powers to remove him from 
     office, and set an election for May 25, 2014, to select his 
     replacement;
       Whereas, amid Ukraine's economic hardships, President 
     Yanukovych amassed a lavish secret estate that included a 
     private zoo, exotic gardens, numerous automobiles, and a tall 
     ship;
       Whereas, on February 27, 2014, heavily armed soldiers 
     without identification or insignia began securing key 
     facilities in the Crimea, including its regional parliament 
     and two airports, and in the ensuing days encircled Ukrainian 
     military facilities and gained effective control of the 
     region;
       Whereas the military forces are clearly Russian troops, and 
     on March 1, 2014, President Putin sought and received rubber 
     stamp parliamentary approval to use military force against 
     greater Ukraine, having argued that the Government of the 
     Russian Federation acted because of the ``threat of violence 
     from ultranationalists'';
       Whereas there has been no credible evidence of serious 
     threats to Russian citizens in Crimea or elsewhere in 
     Ukraine, and the Russian Federation's military invasion has 
     been widely condemned internationally;
       Whereas the Russian Federation, as a signatory to the 1994 
     Budapest Memorandum, reaffirmed its commitment to Ukraine, to 
     respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing 
     borders of Ukraine, to refrain from the threat or use of 
     force against the territorial integrity or political 
     independence of Ukraine, to refrain from economic coercion to 
     subordinate Ukraine to Russia's interests, and to consult in 
     the event a situation arises that raises a question 
     concerning these commitments;
       Whereas, in 1997, the Russian Federation and Ukraine signed 
     a friendship treaty, during which time Russian President 
     Boris Yeltsin said in Kyiv, ``We respect and honor the 
     territorial integrity of Ukraine.'';
       Whereas the Russian Federation, as a participating state in 
     the Final Act of the Conference for Security and Cooperation 
     in Europe in 1975 (Helsinki Final Act), committed to respect 
     the sovereign equality and individuality of other 
     participating states, including the right of every state to 
     territorial integrity and to freedom and political 
     independence, to refrain from the threat or use of force 
     against the territorial integrity or political independence 
     of any state, to regard as inviolable all one another's 
     frontiers as well as the frontiers of all states in Europe, 
     and to refrain from making each other's territory the object 
     of military occupation;
       Whereas, under United Nations Charter Article 2, all 
     members shall settle international disputes by peaceful means 
     in a manner that international peace and security are not 
     endangered and refrain from the threat or use of force 
     against the territorial integrity or political independence 
     of any state;
       Whereas President Putin himself wrote in 2013, ``Under 
     current international law, force is permitted only in self-
     defense or by the decision of the Security Council. Anything 
     else is unacceptable under the United Nations Charter and 
     would constitute an act of aggression.'';
       Whereas the North Atlantic Council stated that Russian 
     military action against Ukraine is a breach of international 
     law and contravenes the principles of the NATO-Russia Council 
     and the Partnership for Peace and that Russia must respect 
     its obligations under the United Nations Charter and 
     principles of the Organization for Security and Co-operation 
     in Europe (OSCE), on which peace and stability in Europe 
     rest;
       Whereas leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, 
     the United Kingdom, and the United States and the presidents 
     of the European Council and the European Commission condemned 
     the Russian Federation's clear violation of Ukrainian 
     sovereignty and territorial integrity, in contravention of 
     the Russian Federation's obligations under the United Nations 
     Charter and its 1997 basing agreement with Ukraine;
       Whereas, on February 28, 2014, President Barack Obama 
     stated that the United States is ``deeply concerned by 
     reports of military movements taken by the Russian Federation 
     inside of Ukraine'' and that it ``would be a clear violation 
     of Russia's commitment to respect the independence and 
     sovereignty and borders of Ukraine, and of international 
     law''; and
       Whereas President Obama pledged that ``the United States 
     will stand with the international community in affirming that 
     there will be costs for any military intervention in 
     Ukraine'': Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) condemns the unprovoked and illegal Russian military 
     seizure of the Ukrainian Crimea and demands the immediate 
     withdrawal of Russian forces except as specifically allowed 
     for by treaty;
       (2) demands the immediate release of besieged Ukrainian 
     security forces in Crimea, who have shown remarkable 
     restraint under threat;
       (3) warns that failure to do so or any additional military 
     action against other areas of Ukraine will lead to swift and 
     significant consequences in the Russian Federation's 
     relations with the United States and those nations who share 
     our views;
       (4) urges the President to use all appropriate economic 
     elements of United States national power, in coordination 
     with United States allies, including loan guarantees matched 
     with requirements of international financial institutions 
     regarding Ukrainian economic reforms and transparency, to 
     strengthen the Ukrainian economy and protect the 
     independence, sovereignty, and territorial and economic 
     integrity of Ukraine;
       (5) urges the President to use appropriate economic and 
     diplomatic measures, including calibrated sanctions, against 
     those responsible for the illegal seizure of Crimea;
       (6) urges the President to propose to G-8 nations to 
     suspend the Russian Federation, and to propose to our NATO 
     allies to suspend operation of the NATO-Russia Council and 
     suspend the Russian Federation's military and diplomatic 
     representation at NATO;
       (7) condemns the economic coercion pursued by the Russian 
     Federation beginning in July 2013 against Ukraine, Moldova, 
     Lithuania, and other countries in the region in order to 
     obstruct closer ties between the European Union and the 
     countries of the Eastern Partnership and supports the people 
     of Ukraine in their desire to forge closer ties with Europe;
       (8) supports assisting Ukraine and United States allies in 
     the region in gaining energy security in order to alleviate 
     their vulnerability to the Russian Federation's threats and 
     manipulations;
       (9) expresses its continuing support for democratic allies 
     who regularly face aggression on their borders from the 
     Government of the Russian Federation and supports enhanced 
     security cooperation with, and security assistance to, states 
     in Central and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine;
       (10) encourages governments in Europe to take similar and 
     coordinated actions to make it clear to the Government of the 
     Russian Federation that violating the territorial integrity 
     of sovereign nations will have swift and significant 
     consequences;
       (11) calls for the immediate acceptance of a credible 
     international observer mission in Crimea and other parts of 
     the Ukraine;
       (12) calls on the Government of the Russian Federation to 
     seriously engage with the Government of Ukraine in a 
     political dialogue on a political and diplomatic path that 
     respects Ukrainian sovereignty and the Crimea's complex 
     historic and ethnic makeup;
       (13) supports the efforts of the Government of Ukraine to 
     bring to justice those responsible for the acts of violence 
     related to the anti-government protests that began on 
     November 21, 2013;
       (14) supports the efforts of the Government of Ukraine to 
     recover and return to the Ukrainian state funds stolen by 
     former President Yanukovych, his family, and other current 
     and former members of the Government of Ukraine and elites; 
     and
       (15) calls upon the leadership of the Federation 
     Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to reconsider 
     its decision to place World Cup 2018 matches in Russia.

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