H. Con. Res. 120 Agreed to September 18, 1996

One Hundred Fourth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,

the third day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-six

Concurrent Resolution

Supporting the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine and the progress of its

political and economic reforms.

Whereas August 24, 1996, marks the fifth anniversary of the

independence of Ukraine;

Whereas the independent State of Ukraine is a member State

of the United Nations and the United Nations has established

in Ukraine an office to assist Ukraine in building relations with

the international community and in coordinating international

assistance for Ukraine;

Whereas the independent State of Ukraine is a member State

of the Council of Europe, the Organization on Security and

Cooperation in Europe, the Central European Initiative, and the

North Atlantic Cooperation Council of the North Atlantic Alliance,

is a participant in the Partnership for Peace program of the

North Atlantic Alliance, and has entered into a Partnership and

Cooperation Agreement with the European Union;

Whereas the United States recognized Ukraine as an independent

State on December 25, 1991;

Whereas Ukraine is a major European nation, having the second

largest territory and sixth largest population of all the States

of Europe;

Whereas Ukraine has an important geopolitical and economic role

to play within Central and Eastern Europe and a strong, stable,

and secure Ukraine serves the interests of peace and stability

in all of Europe, which is also an important national security

interest of the United States;

Whereas Ukraine conducted its first presidential and parliamentary

elections as an independent State in 1994, carrying such elections

out in a free and fair manner and moving further away from

the former communist model of one-party, centralized, totalitarian

rule;

Whereas Ukraine’s presidential elections of July 1994 resulted in

the first peaceful transfer of executive power in any of the

independent States of the former Soviet Union;

Whereas on June 28, 1996, the Parliament of Ukraine adopted

a new constitution for Ukraine;

Whereas Ukraine’s economic and social stability depend on its

ability to build a stable market-based economy and a legal system

based on the rule of law, attract foreign investment, improve

tax and revenue collection, and build its export sectors;
H. Con. Res. 120—2

Whereas Ukraine was the first of the independent states of the

former Soviet Union to have appointed a civilian to the office

of Minister of Defense, an historic precedent in support of civilian

control and oversight of the armed forces of Ukraine;

Whereas Ukraine is pursuing political and economic reforms

intended to ensure its future strength, stability, and security

and to ensure that it will assume its rightful place among the

international community of democratic States and in European

and trans-Atlantic institutions;

Whereas through the agreement by the Government of Ukraine

to the establishment of a mission from the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe in the region of Crimea, Ukraine

has shown its interest in avoiding the use of force in resolving

ethnic and regional disputes within Ukraine;

Whereas all nuclear weapons were removed from Ukraine by June

1, 1996, and Ukraine has taken very positive steps in supporting

efforts to stem proliferation of nuclear weapons by ratifying the

START–I Treaty on nuclear disarmament and the Treaty on

the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons;

Whereas in December 1994, the Presidents of the United States

and the Russian Federation and the Prime Minister of Great

Britain signed a Memorandum on National Security Assurances

for Ukraine as depository States under the Treaty on the NonProliferation of Nuclear Weapons;

Whereas the Secretary of Defense of the United States and the

Minister of Defense of Ukraine signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of defense and military relations on July 27, 1993;

Whereas Ukraine has sought to promote constructive cooperation

with its neighbors through humanitarian assistance and through

mediation of disputes;

Whereas Ukraine has provided Ukrainian troops as part of the

international peacekeeping force meant to prevent the spread

of conflict in the states of the former Yugoslavia; and

Whereas Ukraine has acted in defense of its sovereignty and that

of other newly independent states by opposing the emergence

of any political or military organization which has the potential

to promote the reintegration of the states of the former Soviet

Union: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that—

(1) Ukraine has made significant progress in political

reform in its first 5 years of independence and that it is to

be congratulated for the successful conduct of free and fair

elections for the presidency and parliament and for the adoption

of a new constitution;

(2) the territorial integrity of Ukraine in its existing borders

is an important element of European peace and stability;

(3) the President and Parliament of Ukraine should focus

their efforts on passing legislation needed to implement the

new democratic constitution;

(4) the Government of Ukraine should continue its efforts

to ensure the rights of all citizens of Ukraine regardless of

their ethnic or religious background;

(5) the Government of Ukraine should make its first priority the dismantling of the remaining socialist sectors of its

economy, particularly by speedily privatizing medium and large
H. Con. Res. 120—3

state-owned enterprises, privatizing state and collective farms

and ending their monopolistic control of the agro-industrial

sector, and fostering a competitive market-based energy sector;

(6) the Government of Ukraine should make the necessary

institutional and legal reforms to create a stable tax regime,

foster market-based competition, protect the right to private

property, and make other changes that build a positive climate

for foreign investment;

(7) the Government of Ukraine should make it a priority

to build the institutional capacity and legal framework needed

to fight crime and corruption effectively in a democratic environment;

(8) the Government of Ukraine should continue its cooperative efforts with the ‘‘G–7’’ group of States to safely and expeditiously shut down the nuclear reactors at Chernobyl, Ukraine;

(9) the President of the United States should support

continued United States assistance to Ukraine for its political

and economic reforms, for efforts associated with the safe and

secure dismantlement of its weapons of mass destruction, and

for the increased safety of operation of its civilian nuclear

reactors, and assistance for the establishment of rule of law,

for criminal justice and law enforcement training, and for the

promotion of trade and investment, and in this regard United

States assistance to the Ukraine should leverage private-sector

involvement as much as possible;

(10) the President of the United States should urge that

the Government of the Russian Federation, in line with the

assurances for the security of Ukraine made by the President

of the Russian Federation in the January 1994 Trilateral Statement on Nuclear Disarmament in Ukraine, offer Ukraine its

promised highest possible cooperation, fully and finally recognizing Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and

refraining from any economic coercion of Ukraine;

(11) the Government of Ukraine should continue to act

in defense of its sovereignty and that of the other independent

states of the former Soviet Union by opposing the emergence

of any political or military organization which would have the

potential to promote the reintegration of the states of the

former Soviet Union;

(12) the President of the United States should ensure that

Ukraine’s national security interests are fully considered in

any review of European security arrangements and understandings;

(13) the President of the United States should support

continued United States security assistance for Ukraine, including assistance for training of military officers, military exercises

as part of the North Atlantic Alliance’s Partnership for Peace

program, and appropriate military equipment to assist Ukraine

in maintaining its defensive capabilities as it reduces its military force levels;

(14) the President of the United States should ensure the

United States Government’s continued efforts to assist Ukraine

in its accession to the World Trade Organization; and should

ensure, in particular, that the potential for aerospace and space

cooperation and commerce between the United States and

Ukraine is fully and appropriately exploited; and
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(15) as a leader of the democratic nations of the world,

the United States should continue to support the people of

Ukraine in their struggle to bring peace, prosperity, and democracy to Ukraine and to the other independent states of the

former Soviet Union.

Attest:

Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Attest:

Secretary of the Senate.