[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 56 (Thursday, March 30, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2155-S2156]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 106--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE TO SUPPORT 
                  THE TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY OF GEORGIA

  Mr. WICKER (for himself and Mr. Cardin) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 106

       Whereas principle IV of the Helsinki Final Act of 1975 
     states, ``The participating States will respect the 
     territorial integrity of each of the participating States. 
     Accordingly, they will refrain from any action inconsistent 
     with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United 
     Nations against the territorial integrity, political 
     independence or the unity of any participating State, and in 
     particular from any such action constituting a threat or use 
     of force. . . and participating States will likewise refrain 
     from making each other's territory the object of military 
     occupation.'';
       Whereas the Charter of the United Nations states, ``All 
     Members shall refrain in their international relations from 
     the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity 
     or political independence of any state.'';
       Whereas, since 1993, the sovereignty and territorial 
     integrity of Georgia have been reaffirmed by the 
     international community in all United Nations Security 
     Council resolutions on Georgia;
       Whereas the Government of Georgia has pursued a peaceful 
     resolution of the conflict with Russia over Georgia's 
     territories of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region/South 
     Ossetia;
       Whereas the recognition by the Government of the Russian 
     Federation of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia on 
     August 26, 2008, was in violation of the sovereignty and 
     territorial integrity of Georgia and contradicting principles 
     of Helsinki Final Act of 1975, the Charter of the United 
     Nations, and the August 12, 2008, Ceasefire Agreement;
       Whereas the United States-Georgia Charter on Strategic 
     Partnership, signed on January 9, 2009, underscores that 
     ``support for each other's sovereignty, independence, 
     territorial integrity and inviolability of borders 
     constitutes the foundation of our bilateral relations.'';
       Whereas, according to the Government of Georgia's ``State 
     Strategy on Occupied Territories'', the Government of Georgia 
     has committed itself to a policy of peaceful engagement, the 
     protection of economic and human rights, freedom of movement, 
     and the preservation of cultural heritage, language, and 
     identity for the people of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali 
     region/South Ossetia;
       Whereas the August 2008 war between the Russian Federation 
     and Georgia resulted in civilian and military casualties, the 
     violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of 
     Georgia, and large numbers of internally displaced persons;
       Whereas the annual United Nations General Assembly 
     Resolution on the ``Status of Internally Displaced Persons 
     and Refugees from Abkhazia, Georgia and the Tskhinvali 
     region/South Ossetia, Georgia'' recognizes that the right of 
     return of all internally displaced persons and refugees and 
     their descendants, regardless of ethnicity, as well as their 
     property rights, remains unfulfilled;
       Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation is 
     building barbed wire fences and installing, so-called 
     ``border signs'' and other artificial barriers along the 
     occupation line and depriving the people residing within the 
     occupied regions and in the adjacent areas of their 
     fundamental rights and freedoms, including, the freedom of 
     movement, family life, education in their native language, 
     and other civil and economic rights;
       Whereas the August 12, 2008, Ceasefire Agreement, agreed to 
     by the Governments of the Russian Federation and Georgia--
       (1) provides that all troops of the Russian Federation 
     shall be withdrawn to pre-war positions;
       (2) provides that free access shall be granted to 
     organizations providing humanitarian assistance in regions 
     affected by the violence in August 2008; and
       (3) launched the Geneva International Discussions between 
     Georgia and the Russian Federation;

       Whereas, on November 23, 2010, President of Georgia Mikheil 
     Saakashvili declared before the European Parliament that 
     ``Georgia will never use force to restore its territorial 
     integrity and sovereignty'';
       Whereas, on March 7, 2013, the bipartisan Resolution of the 
     Parliament of Georgia on Basic Directions of Georgia's 
     Foreign Policy confirmed ``Georgia's commitment for the non-
     use of force, pledged by the President of Georgia in his 
     address to the international community from the European 
     Parliament in Strasburg on November 23, 2010'';
       Whereas, on June 27, 2014, in the Association Agreement 
     between Georgia and the European Union, Georgia reaffirmed 
     its commitment ``to restore its territorial integrity in 
     pursuit of a peaceful and lasting conflict resolution, of 
     pursuing the full implementation of'' the August 12, 2008, 
     ceasefire agreement;
       Whereas, despite the unilateral legally binding commitment 
     to the non-use of force pledged by the Government of Georgia, 
     the Government of the Russian Federation still refuses to 
     reciprocate with its own legally binding non-use of force 
     pledge;
       Whereas the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) is 
     still denied access to the occupied regions of Abkhazia and 
     the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, despite the fact that 
     its mandate covers the whole territory of Georgia within its 
     internationally recognized borders;
       Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation continues 
     to enhance its military

[[Page S2156]]

     bases illegally stationed in occupied regions of Abkhazia and 
     the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia without the consent of 
     the Government of Georgia or a mandate from the United 
     Nations or other multilateral organizations;
       Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation continues 
     the process of aggression carried out against Georgia since 
     the early 1990s and occupation of Georgia's territories 
     following the August 2008 Russia-Georgia War;
       Whereas the March 5, 2017, closure of two crossing points 
     on the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) with Abkhazia in 
     the villages of Nabakevi and Otobaia violated fundamental 
     rights to freedom of movement, privacy, and family life, as 
     well as access to education and health care for the local 
     population, contravening commitments to work towards enhanced 
     security and improved living conditions for the conflict-
     affected population;
       Whereas President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin 
     has ordered his government to conclude an agreement to 
     effectively incorporate the military of Georgia's South 
     Ossetia region into the Russian armed forces' command 
     structure, thereby impeding the peace process;
       Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation's policy 
     vis-a-vis Georgia and the alarming developments in the region 
     illustrate that the Government of the Russian Federation does 
     not accept the independent choice of sovereign states and 
     strives for the restoration of zones of influence in the 
     region, including through the use of force, occupation, 
     factual annexation, and other aggressive acts; and
       Whereas the United States applied the doctrine of non-
     recognition in 1940 to the countries of Estonia, Latvia, and 
     Lithuania, and every Presidential administration of the 
     United States honored this doctrine until independence was 
     restored to those countries in 1991: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) supports the policy, popularly known as the ``Stimson 
     Doctrine'', of the United States to not recognize territorial 
     changes effected by force, and affirms that this policy 
     should continue to guide the foreign policy of the United 
     States;
       (2) condemns the military intervention and occupation of 
     Georgia by the Russian Federation and its continuous illegal 
     activities along the occupation line in Abkhazia and 
     Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia;
       (3) calls upon the Government of the Russian Federation to 
     withdraw its recognition of Georgia's territories of Abkhazia 
     and the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia as independent 
     countries, to refrain from acts and policies that undermine 
     the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia, and to 
     take steps to fulfill all the terms and conditions of the 
     August 12, 2008, Ceasefire Agreement between Georgia and the 
     Russian Federation;
       (4) stresses the necessity of progress on core issues 
     within the Geneva International Discussions, including a 
     legally binding pledge from the Government of the Russian 
     Federation on the non-use of force, the establishment of 
     international security arrangements in the occupied regions 
     of Georgia, and the safe and dignified return of internally 
     displaced persons and refugees to the places of their origin;
       (5) urges the United States Government to declare 
     unequivocally that the United States will not under any 
     circumstances recognize the de jure or de facto sovereignty 
     of the Russian Federation over any part of Georgia, its 
     airspace, or its territorial waters, including Abkhazia and 
     the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia;
       (6) urges the President to deepen cooperation with the 
     Government of Georgia in all areas of the United States-
     Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership, including Georgia's 
     advancement towards Euro-Atlantic integration;
       (7) urges the President to place emphasis on enhancing 
     Georgia's security through joint military training and 
     providing self-defensive capabilities in order to enhance 
     Georgia's independent statehood and national sovereignty; and
       (8) affirms that a free, united, democratic, and sovereign 
     Georgia is in the long-term interest of the United States as 
     it promotes peace and stability in the region.

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