U.S. Senate Resolution calls Russia to be a responsible G8 partner
A U.S. Senate Resolution 612 on Russia has been passed at the end of the legislative process ant now it is in effect. Senators Joseph Biden (Democrat - Delaware), John Kerry (Democrat - Massachusetts), and Robert Casey (Democrat - Pennsylvania) sponsored this resolution.
The Senate Resolution # 612 was passed by the U.S. Senate on July 14, 2008. It expresses 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.
This was the brother sense, but much of this Resolution's focus is on Russia's recent behavior and policies. Between the lines, one can read that admitting Russia in the G8 group was premature and, in retrospect, a mistake.
Among others, in the Resolution has been mentioned that the Russian Federation:
- 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;
- has attempted to undermine the territorial integrity of the Republic of Georgia through its support of the breakaway provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia;
- shot down an unarmed Georgian drone on April 20, 2008, while flying over Abkhazia;
- uses 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;
- contributed to the erosion of regional peace and security and 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;
- conducts its domestic policy undermining confidence in the Russian Federation’s ability and capability to serve as a full partner in the work of the international community;
The Resolution calls Russia to observe non-proliferation agreements of which the Russian Federation is a party, 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.
On democracy ‘front’, the Resolution calls Russia to adopt foreign and domestic policies that are consistent with “freedom, democracy and the right to private property”, as articulated by President Dmitry Medvedev; to 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; 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.
The Senate Resolution draws the attention of the leaders of the Russian Federation that they should respect the rights of sovereign, democratic governments in neighboring countries and their prerogative to seek membership in Euro-Atlantic institutions. These neighbors are now Ukraine and Georgia and, down the road, will be Moldova, possibly Azerbaijan and Belarus.
Government Printing Office; full text: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=sr110-612#votes
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