IV

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 120

Supporting the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine and the progress

of its political and economic reforms.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

DECEMBER 15, 1995

Mr. GILMAN (for himself, Mr. GOODLING, Mr. SOLOMON, and Mr. HOKE) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the

Committee on International Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Supporting the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine and

the progress of its political and economic reforms.

Whereas August 24, 1995, marked the fourth 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, and the North Atlantic Cooperation Council of the North Atlantic Alliance, is a

participant in the Partnership for Peace program of the
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North Atlantic Alliance, and has entered into a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with the European

Union and has been accepted for membership in the

Central European Initiative in 1996;

Whereas the United States recognized Ukraine as an independent State on December 25, 1991, and established

diplomatic relations with Ukraine on January 2, 1992;

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 in June 1995, through peaceful cooperation and

compromise, the President and Parliament of Ukraine

reached a political accord meant to better define the balance of powers between the executive and legislative

branches of government, pending the adoption of a new

constitution for Ukraine;
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Whereas Ukraine is the first of the independent states of the

former Soviet Union to appoint a civilian to the office of

Minister of Defense;

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 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,

thereby relinquishing nuclear weapons it possessed after

the dissolution of the former Union of Soviet Socialist

Republics;

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;

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;
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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 played a vital role in preventing the

emergence of a coercive military bloc on the territory of

the former Soviet Union by representing the interests of

the smaller states that are members of the organization

known as the Commonwealth of Independent States:

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 4 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;

8 (2) the territorial integrity of Ukraine in its ex9 isting borders is an important element of European

10 peace and stability;

11 (3) the President and Parliament of Ukraine

12 should continue their strong efforts to agree upon

13 and submit to the Ukranian people for their ap14 proval a new democratic constitution providing for a
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1 proper balance of power between the branches of

2 government;

3 (4) the Government of Ukraine should continue

4 its efforts to ensure the rights of all citizens of

5 Ukraine regardless of their ethnic or religious back6 ground;

7 (5) the Government of Ukraine should continue

8 and accelerate its efforts to transform its economy,

9 abandoning the failed economic policies of the

10 former communist regime and ensuring that pro11 grams meant to ensure the success of economic re12 form receive strong support at all levels of govern13 ment;

14 (6) the Government of Ukraine should, in par15 ticular, proceed with the privatization of state-owned

16 enterprises in a very expeditious manner;

17 (7) the Government of Ukraine should, in par18 ticular, place a high priority on the adoption of

19 those laws necessary to ensure the continued growth

20 of an economy based on market mechanisms, private

21 enterprise, and the right to private property;

22 (8) the Government of Ukraine should continue

23 its efforts to arrive at an agreement with the ‘‘G–

24 7’’ group of States whereby the nuclear reactors at
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1 Chernobyl, Ukraine, might be shut down in a safe

2 and expeditious manner;

3 (9) the President of the United States should

4 support continued United States assistance to

5 Ukraine for its political and economic reforms, for

6 the safe and secure dismantlement of its weapons of

7 mass destruction, and for the increased safety of op8 eration of its civilian nuclear reactors, and assist9 ance for the establishment of rule of law, for crimi10 nal justice and law enforcement training, and for the

11 promotion of trade and investment;

12 (10) the President of the United States should

13 insist that the Government of the Russian Federa14 tion, in line with the assurances for the security of

15 Ukraine made by the President of the Russian Fed16 eration in the January 1994 Trilateral Statement on

17 Nuclear Disarmament in Ukraine, fully and finally

18 recognize Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integ19 rity and refrain from any economic coercion of

20 Ukraine;

21 (11) the Government of Ukraine should con22 tinue to act in defense of its sovereignty and that of

23 the other independent states of the former Soviet

24 Union by opposing the emergence of any collective

25 military bloc on the territory of the former Soviet
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1 Union whose primary purpose would be the re-cre2 ation of that failed state or the reintegration into

3 one political entity of those nations once held captive

4 by it;

5 (12) the President of the United States should

6 express the support of the United States for

7 Ukraine’s insistence that it be provided with appro8 priate rent or compensation for the use of its bases,

9 ports or other facilities on its territory under appro10 priately negotiated and ratified agreements and trea11 ties;

12 (13) the President of the United States should

13 ensure that Ukraine’s national security interests are

14 fully considered in any revision of the Treaty on

15 Conventional Forces in Europe that may be agreed

16 to by the signatories to that agreement;

17 (14) the President of the United States should

18 work to ensure that Ukraine’s interests as an inte19 gral part of Central and Eastern Europe are fully

20 considered in any review of European security ar21 rangements and understandings;

22 (15) the President of the United States should

23 support continued United States security assistance

24 for Ukraine, including assistance for training of

25 military officers, military exercises as part of the
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1 North Atlantic Alliance’s Partnership for Peace pro2 gram, and appropriate military equipment to assist

3 Ukraine in maintaining its defensive capabilities as

4 it reduces its military force levels;

5 (16) the President of the United States should

6 ensure the United States Government’s continued ef7 forts to assist Ukraine in its accession to the World

8 Trade Organization; and should ensure, in particu9 lar, that the potential for aerospace and space co10 operation and commerce between the United States

11 and Ukraine is fully and appropriately exploited; and

12 (17) as a leader of the democratic nations of

13 the world, the United States should continue to sup14 port the people of Ukraine in their struggle to bring

15 peace, prosperity, and democracy to Ukraine and to

16 the other independent states of the former Soviet

17 Union.

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