III

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 120

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 5, 1996

Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

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;
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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
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legal system based on the rule of law, attract foreign investment, improve tax and revenue collection, and build

its export sectors;

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 Non-Proliferation of Nuclear

Weapons;
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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

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that—

3 (1) Ukraine has made significant progress in

4 political reform in its first 5 years of independence

5 and that it is to be congratulated for the successful

6 conduct of free and fair elections for the presidency

7 and parliament and for the adoption of a new con8 stitution;

9 (2) the territorial integrity of Ukraine in its ex10 isting borders is an important element of European

11 peace and stability;
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1 (3) the President and Parliament of Ukraine

2 should focus their efforts on passing legislation

3 needed to implement the new democratic constitu4 tion;

5 (4) the Government of Ukraine should continue

6 its efforts to ensure the rights of all citizens of

7 Ukraine regardless of their ethnic or religious back8 ground;

9 (5) the Government of Ukraine should make its

10 first priority the dismantling of the remaining social11 ist sectors of its economy, particularly by speedily

12 privatizing medium and large state-owned enter13 prises, privatizing state and collective farms and

14 ending their monopolistic control of the agro-indus15 trial sector, and fostering a competitive market16 based energy sector;

17 (6) the Government of Ukraine should make

18 the necessary institutional and legal reforms to cre19 ate a stable tax regime, foster market-based com20 petition, protect the right to private property, and

21 make other changes that build a positive climate for

22 foreign investment;

23 (7) the Government of Ukraine should make it

24 a priority to build the institutional capacity and
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1 legal framework needed to fight crime and corrup2 tion effectively in a democratic environment;

3 (8) the Government of Ukraine should continue

4 its cooperative efforts with the ‘‘G–7’’ group of

5 States to safely and expeditiously shut down the nu6 clear reactors at Chernobyl, Ukraine;

7 (9) the President of the United States should

8 support continued United States assistance to

9 Ukraine for its political and economic reforms, for

10 efforts associated with the safe and secure dis11 mantlement of its weapons of mass destruction, and

12 for the increased safety of operation of its civilian

13 nuclear reactors, and assistance for the establish14 ment of rule of law, for criminal justice and law en15 forcement training, and for the promotion of trade

16 and investment, and in this regard United States as17 sistance to the Ukraine should leverage private-sec18 tor involvement as much as possible;

19 (10) the President of the United States should

20 urge that the Government of the Russian Federa21 tion, in line with the assurances for the security of

22 Ukraine made by the President of the Russian Fed23 eration in the January 1994 Trilateral Statement on

24 Nuclear Disarmament in Ukraine, offer Ukraine its

25 promised highest possible cooperation, fully and fi-
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1 nally recognizing Ukraine’s sovereignty and terri2 torial integrity and refraining from any economic co3 ercion of Ukraine;

4 (11) the Government of Ukraine should con5 tinue to act in defense of its sovereignty and that of

6 the other independent states of the former Soviet

7 Union by opposing the emergence of any political or

8 military organization which would have the potential

9 to promote the reintegration of the states of the

10 former Soviet Union;

11 (12) the President of the United States should

12 ensure that Ukraine’s national security interests are

13 fully considered in any review of European security

14 arrangements and understandings;

15 (13) the President of the United States should

16 support continued United States security assistance

17 for Ukraine, including assistance for training of

18 military officers, military exercises as part of the

19 North Atlantic Alliance’s Partnership for Peace pro20 gram, and appropriate military equipment to assist

21 Ukraine in maintaining its defensive capabilities as

22 it reduces its military force levels;

23 (14) the President of the United States should

24 ensure the United States Government’s continued ef25 forts to assist Ukraine in its accession to the World
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1 Trade Organization; and should ensure, in particu2 lar, that the potential for aerospace and space co3 operation and commerce between the United States

4 and Ukraine is fully and appropriately exploited; and

5 (15) as a leader of the democratic nations of

6 the world, the United States should continue to sup7 port the people of Ukraine in their struggle to bring

8 peace, prosperity, and democracy to Ukraine and to

9 the other independent states of the former Soviet

10 Union.

Passed the House of Representatives September 4,

1996.

Attest: ROBIN H. CARLE,

Clerk.