[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 54 (Monday, March 28, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1805-S1806]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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 SENATE RESOLUTION 558--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE ON WHEN THE 
    ECONOMIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE RUSSIAN 
    FEDERATION SHOULD BE CONSIDERED TO RETURN TO THE LEVEL OF THAT 
 RELATIONSHIP BEFORE THE INVASION OF UKRAINE BY THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION 
  THAT BEGAN ON FEBRUARY 24, 2022, AND ON THE ACTIONS THAT SHOULD BE 
                           TAKEN AT THAT TIME

  Mr. CASSIDY submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 558

       Whereas the United States has a responsibility to uphold 
     the values of freedom, democracy, and human rights across the 
     globe;
       Whereas there are several universal declarations promoting 
     human rights, laws of war, and upholding the dignity of 
     individuals;
       Whereas the preamble to the United Nations Charter states 
     that member countries ``reaffirm faith in fundamental human 
     rights [and] in the dignity and worth of the human person'';
       Whereas the preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human 
     Rights states, ``Member States have pledged themselves to 
     achieve, in cooperation with the United Nations, the 
     promotion of universal respect for and observance of human 
     rights and fundamental freedoms'';
       Whereas the Russian Federation, as the former Union of 
     Soviet Socialists Republics, joined as an original member of 
     the United Nations on October 24, 1945, and as such has a 
     duty to abide by the conditions of the United Nations 
     Charter;
       Whereas President Vladimir Putin, members of the Security 
     Council of the Russian Federation, and President Putin's 
     military commanders have severely undermined the 
     international rule of law through their various actions;
       Whereas President Vladimir Putin violated the sovereignty 
     of Ukraine and used military force to seize control and 
     unlawfully occupy Crimea and eastern Ukraine, 
     indiscriminately targeting and killing thousands of innocent 
     civilians since 2014;
       Whereas rebel forces supported by the Russian Federation 
     were deemed responsible for

[[Page S1806]]

     a missile attack on January 24, 2015, in Mariupol, Ukraine, 
     that indiscriminately targeted civilians, resulting in the 
     death of at least 30 people and injuring many more;
       Whereas intelligence assessments have concluded Vladimir 
     Putin and his regime have destroyed the rule of law in the 
     Russian Federation and engaged in countless crimes against 
     humanity, including ordering the poisoning of Alexi Navalny, 
     the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal, and the false 
     imprisonment and torture ultimately leading to the death of 
     Sergei Magnitsky;
       Whereas armed forces of the Russian Federation, under the 
     leadership of President Vladimir Putin and the Security 
     Council of the Russian Federation, initiated an unprovoked 
     war against Ukraine based on false security claims and 
     threats in February 2022;
       Whereas President Vladimir Putin has allegedly committed 
     war crimes in his reckless quest to decimate Ukraine and the 
     people of Ukraine, including civilians, children, and women;
       Whereas the people of the Russian Federation are suffering 
     economic hardship from global sanctions as a direct result of 
     President Vladimir Putin's erratic, illogical, and irrational 
     actions;
       Whereas the United States Government seeks the most 
     productive relationship possible with the people of the 
     Russian Federation for the sake of their own liberty and 
     prosperity; and
       Whereas the United States Government should use its voice, 
     vote, and influence to pursue war crimes allegations against 
     Vladimir Putin and his military commanders in international 
     institutions of which it is a member and encourage other 
     allies and partners to do the same: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) the economic relationship between the United States and 
     the Russian Federation should be considered to return to the 
     level of that relationship before the invasion of Ukraine by 
     the Russian Federation that began on February 24, 2022, only 
     when--
       (A) the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and proxies 
     of such forces withdraw from all territory of Ukraine such 
     forces or proxies have occupied since February 24, 2022, and 
     that withdrawal is verified by a supervision mission of the 
     United Nations in Ukraine;
       (B) the Government of the Russian Federation has ceased 
     engaging in cyberattacks and disseminating anti-Ukraine, pro-
     Russian Federation propaganda and has committed to not 
     engaging in such attacks or disseminating such propaganda in 
     the future; and
       (C) a free and fair election is held in the Russian 
     Federation, as determined by the Secretary of State;
       (2) as soon as possible after the date of agreement to this 
     resolution--
       (A) the President should direct the United States 
     Representative to the United Nations to use the voice, vote, 
     and influence of the United States to immediately promote the 
     establishment of an international justice mechanism for 
     alleged war crimes and other alleged crimes of the Russian 
     Federation against Ukraine and to prosecute the perpetrators 
     of such crimes committed during the period of conflict in 
     Ukraine;
       (B) in the event that the United Nations is unable or 
     unwilling to establish a mechanism described in subparagraph 
     (A), the President should convoke and convene the world's 
     democracies for the purposes of establishing a regional or 
     international justice mechanism for crimes described in that 
     subparagraph;
       (C) in working with other countries to establish such a 
     regional or international justice mechanism, the United 
     States should assist all partners in that effort to develop 
     judicial procedures that enable the fair and open prosecution 
     of persons accused of perpetrating such crimes;
       (D) the United States should encourage, support, and 
     collect any and all information that can be supplied to a 
     justice mechanism described in subparagraph (A) or (B) for 
     use as evidence to support the indictment and trial of any 
     persons accused of crimes described in subparagraph (A), 
     including the crime of aggression in Ukraine, as an immediate 
     priority; and
       (E) the United States should urge all other interested 
     countries to apprehend and deliver into the custody of a 
     justice mechanism described in subparagraph (A) or (B) 
     persons indicted for crimes described in subparagraph (A) and 
     urge all interested countries to provide any and all data and 
     information pertaining to such crimes to that mechanism; and
       (3) when the economic relationship between the United 
     States and the Russian Federation returns to the level of 
     that relationship before the invasion of Ukraine by the 
     Russian Federation, as described in paragraph (1)--
       (A) the President should organize and lead a presidential 
     summit on Eastern European peace and security with the head 
     of the successor government of the Russian Federation, which 
     should include topics such as arms control and existing 
     international fora such as the Collective Security Treaty 
     Organization, the European Union, the Organization for 
     Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Minsk Group, and the 
     North Atlantic Treaty Organization;
       (B) the Secretary of State should--
       (i) begin a formal, consultative process with the United 
     Nations Secretary General and all member countries of the 
     United Nations to reimagine the United Nations Security 
     Council; and
       (ii) initiate talks with all Western allies regarding the 
     reconstruction of Ukraine and humanitarian support to those 
     affected by the war waged by President Vladimir Putin;
       (C) the Senate should establish a special, 
     interdisciplinary commission to make recommendations for the 
     reimagination of a post-war, long-term collective security 
     strategy for Europe, which includes consideration of the 
     security concerns of Ukraine, the Russian Federation, and 
     other non-treaty partners; and
       (D) the United States Government should call on the 
     successor government of the Russian Federation to release all 
     political prisoners held under the authority of the Russian 
     Federation.

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