III 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 106 

Expressing the sense of the Senate to support the territorial integrity of 

Georgia. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 30, 2017 

Mr. WICKER (for himself and Mr. CARDIN) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate to support the territorial 

integrity of Georgia. 

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 


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•SRES 106 IS 

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 casualVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Mar 31, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR106.IS SR106

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ties, 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’’; 


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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 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 GeorVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Mar 31, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR106.IS SR106

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gia 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 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 


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1 (1) supports the policy, popularly known as the 

2 ‘‘Stimson Doctrine’’, of the United States to not rec3 ognize territorial changes effected by force, and af4 firms that this policy should continue to guide the 

5 foreign policy of the United States; 

6 (2) condemns the military intervention and oc7 cupation of Georgia by the Russian Federation and 

8 its continuous illegal activities along the occupation 

9 line in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region/South 

10 Ossetia; 

11 (3) calls upon the Government of the Russian 

12 Federation to withdraw its recognition of Georgia’s 

13 territories of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region/ 

14 South Ossetia as independent countries, to refrain 

15 from acts and policies that undermine the sov16 ereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia, and to 

17 take steps to fulfill all the terms and conditions of 

18 the August 12, 2008, Ceasefire Agreement between 

19 Georgia and the Russian Federation; 

20 (4) stresses the necessity of progress on core 

21 issues within the Geneva International Discussions, 

22 including a legally binding pledge from the Govern23 ment of the Russian Federation on the non-use of 

24 force, the establishment of international security ar25 rangements in the occupied regions of Georgia, and 


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1 the safe and dignified return of internally displaced 

2 persons and refugees to the places of their origin; 

3 (5) urges the United States Government to de4 clare unequivocally that the United States will not 

5 under any circumstances recognize the de jure or de 

6 facto sovereignty of the Russian Federation over any 

7 part of Georgia, its airspace, or its territorial waters, 

8 including Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region/South 

9 Ossetia; 

10 (6) urges the President to deepen cooperation 

11 with the Government of Georgia in all areas of the 

12 United States-Georgia Charter on Strategic Partner13 ship, including Georgia’s advancement towards 

14 Euro-Atlantic integration; 

15 (7) urges the President to place emphasis on 

16 enhancing Georgia’s security through joint military 

17 training and providing self-defensive capabilities in 

18 order to enhance Georgia’s independent statehood 

19 and national sovereignty; and 

20 (8) affirms that a free, united, democratic, and 

21 sovereign Georgia is in the long-term interest of the 

22 United States as it promotes peace and stability in 

23 the region. 

Æ 


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