III 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 612 

Expressing 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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 14, 2008 

Mr. BIDEN (for himself, Mr. KERRY, and Mr. CASEY) submitted the following 

resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing 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. 

Whereas the leaders of 6 major industrialized democracies, 

including France, West Germany, Italy, Japan, the 

United Kingdom, and the United States, gathered in 


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1975 for a summit meeting in Rambouillet, France, and 

for annual meetings thereafter under a rotating presidency known as the Group of Six (G6); 

Whereas the G6 was established based on the mutual interest 

of its members in promoting economic stability, global security, and democracy; 

Whereas, in 1976, membership of the G6 was expanded to include Canada; 

Whereas the members of the G7 share a commitment to promote security, economic stability, and democracy in their 

respective nations and around the world; 

Whereas Russia was integrated into the G7 in 1998 at the 

behest of President William Jefferson Clinton following 

Russian President Boris Yeltsin’s decision to pursue reforms and assume a neutral position on the acceptance 

of additional members into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); 

Whereas the members of the G8 face common challenges, including climate change, violent extremism, global economic volatility, pandemic disease, nuclear proliferation, 

and trafficking in narcotics, persons, and weapons of 

mass destruction; 

Whereas President Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and other leaders of the Russian Federation 

have regularly expressed a desire for the Russian Federation to play a leading role in international affairs; 

Whereas the Russian Federation and other members of the 

international community all stand to benefit if the Russian Federation is an active, constructive partner in addressing the broad range of challenges confronting the 

global community; 


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Whereas the Russian Federation has evidenced the capacity 

and willingness to cooperate with the United States and 

other nations in the interest of global security in certain 

areas pertaining to arms control and weapons proliferation, notably through its participation in the Six-Party 

Talks regarding North Korea and its support of the incentives package offered by leading countries to Iran if 

that country would suspend its uranium enrichment program; 

Whereas the United States and Russia have safely deactivated and destroyed thousands of nuclear, chemical, and 

biological weapons and provided upgraded storage and 

transportation of nuclear materials through the NunnLugar program; 

Whereas the United States and other countries participating 

in the June 2002 G8 Summit in Kananaskis, Canada 

agreed to raise up to $20,000,000,000 over 10 years to 

support nonproliferation projects in Russia and other nations through the Global Partnership Against the Spread 

of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction; 

Whereas participants in the July 2006 G8 Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia launched the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism to improve the physical protection 

of nuclear materials, suppress illicit trafficking of such 

materials, and bolster the capacity of willing partner nations to respond to acts of nuclear terrorism; 

Whereas the United States and the Government of the Russian Federation pledged in the April 2008 Sochi Strategic Framework Declaration to negotiate a ‘‘legally binding post-START arrangement’’ for the purposes of extending provisions of the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction 

Treaty; 


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Whereas, notwithstanding these successes, the potential for 

collaboration between the United States and the Government of Russian Federation has been seriously undermined by the manner in which the leaders of the Russian 

Federation have conducted aspects of Russia’s foreign 

policy; 

Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has 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; 

Whereas the CFE Treaty has played a key role in enhancing 

the stability of the Euro-Atlantic region; 

Whereas the Adapted CFE Treaty, which will not enter into 

force until the Russian Federation fulfills commitments 

made at the Istanbul Summit, will provide greater flexibility for the Russian Federation in return for improved 

transparency and verification; 

Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has attempted to undermine the territorial integrity of the Republic of Georgia through its support of the breakaway 

provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia; 

Whereas the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia has 

concluded that a military aircraft belonging to the Russian Federation shot down an unarmed Georgian drone 

on April 20, 2008, while flying over Abkhazia; 

Whereas the conduct of Russian trade and energy policy has 

created a widespread perception that the Government of 

the Russian Federation is using oil and gas exports and 


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economic policy as a means of political pressure on countries that seek closer ties with the United States and 

Euro-Atlantic partners; 

Whereas the behavior of the Russian Federation as it relates 

to several neighboring countries has contributed to the 

erosion of regional peace and security; 

Whereas 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; 

Whereas there has been considerable disagreement between 

the Government of the United States and the Government of the Russian Federation regarding proposals to 

place ballistic missile defense interceptor and radar sites 

in Poland and the Czech Republic, respectively; 

Whereas certain developments inside the Russian Federation 

and the Russian Government’s conduct of domestic policy 

have undermined confidence in the Russian Federation’s 

ability and capability to serve as a full partner in the 

work of the international community; 

Whereas the Department of State’s Country Report on 

Human Rights Practices for 2007 stated that, in Russia, 

‘‘continuing centralization of power in the executive 

branch, a compliant State Duma, corruption and selectivity in enforcement of the law, media restrictions, and 

harassment of some NGOs eroded the government’s accountability to its citizens.’’; 

Whereas, in June 2008, a report released by Human Rights 

Watch concluded that Russian ‘‘law enforcement and seVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:53 Jul 15, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR612.ATS SR612

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curity forces involved in counterinsurgency [in the North 

Caucasus] have committed dozens of extrajudicial executions, summary and arbitrary detentions, and acts of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment’’; 

Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has 

failed to successfully prosecute individuals responsible for 

the murder of critics of the Kremlin, including journalist 

Anna Politkovskaya and Alexander Litvinenko; 

Whereas the 2008 Annual Report of Reporters without Borders noted a sharp increase in government pressure on 

the independent media in Russia, reporting that at least 

2 journalists were forcibly sent to psychiatric hospitals in 

2007 and others were badly beaten or kidnapped prior to 

the local and parliamentary elections in 2007; 

Whereas Transparency International ranked Russia 143 out 

of 179 countries for perceived corruption in 2007; 

Whereas there is increasing concern about violent nationalism 

and xenophobia in the Russian Federation and the 2008 

Annual Report of the United States Commission on 

International Religious Freedom reports that there has 

been a ‘‘sharp rise in violent crimes against persons [in 

Russia] on account of their religion or ethnicity’’; 

Whereas, in the handling of the Yukos Oil Company case and 

numerous other judicial actions, the Government of the 

Russian Federation has permitted the politicization of 

Russia’s legal system; 

Whereas these developments have seriously damaged international confidence in the institutions and laws of the 

Russian Federation and hindered the ability of the 

United States and other partners to work with the RusVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:53 Jul 15, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR612.ATS SR612

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sian Federation in addressing a broad range of pressing 

global, regional, and domestic challenges; 

Whereas the people of the Russian Federation and the people 

of the United States have been disadvantaged by the resulting damage to relations between the countries; 

Whereas President Dmitry Medvedev, in an interview with 

the Reuters News Service on June 25, 2008, stated that 

‘‘freedom, democracy and the right to private property’’ 

should define Russia’s behavior; 

Whereas the United States believes that adherence on the 

part of the Government of the Russian Federation to the 

values articulated by President Medvedev would provide 

a foundation for improved cooperation with the Russian 

Federation; 

Whereas adherence to the values articulated by President 

Medvedev would also help repair damage to the international reputation of the Russian Federation and advance the goals of security, prosperity, and representative 

governance that should be the common ambition of all 

members of the G8; 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that— 

2 (1) in order to build a more constructive rela3 tionship with the Government of the Russian Fed4 eration and its people, the President of the United 

5 States and other leaders of the G8 nations should— 

6 (A) pursue a broad agenda of cooperation 

7 with the leaders of the Russian Federation; and 


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1 (B) encourage Russia’s transformation into 

2 a more liberal and democratic polity; 

3 (2) the Government of the United States and 

4 the Government of the Russian Federation should 

5 work to ensure the continued success of Nunn-Lugar 

6 initiatives and nonproliferation and counterterrorism 

7 programs through— 

8 (A) additional funding; 

9 (B) access to sensitive facilities; 

10 (C) effective safety and security measures 

11 to prevent proliferation of nuclear, chemical, 

12 and biological weapons and weapons-related 

13 materials and technology; and 

14 (D) cooperation between the United States 

15 and Russia to enhance these objectives on a 

16 worldwide basis; 

17 (3) the Government of the United States and 

18 the Government of the Russian Federation, working 

19 within the International Atomic Energy Agency and 

20 United Nations Security Council, should renew de21 mands for Iran to cease its nuclear enrichment ac22 tivities and fully disclose any prior weapons-related 

23 work; 

24 (4) the Government of the United States and 

25 the Government of the Russian Federation should 


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1 negotiate a legally-binding successor agreement to 

2 the 1991 Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty and ad3 dress all outstanding concerns regarding the 1991 

4 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe; 

5 (5) the leaders of the Russian Federation 

6 should adopt foreign and domestic policies that are 

7 consistent with ‘‘freedom, democracy and the right 

8 to private property’’, as articulated by President 

9 Dmitry Medvedev; 

10 (6) the Government of the Russian Federation 

11 should take immediate steps to restore the freedom 

12 and independence of the country’s media in accord13 ance with its obligations under the International 

14 Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; 

15 (7) the Government and officials of the Russian 

16 Federation should refrain from portraying the North 

17 Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as a threat to 

18 the Russian Federation and fully utilize the consult19 ative mechanisms that exist through the NATO-Rus20 sia Council to facilitate cooperation between the 

21 countries of NATO and the Russian Federation; 

22 (8) the United States, in coordination with 

23 other members of the G8, should— 

24 (A) encourage the Government of the Rus25 sian Federation to address the challenges facing 


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1 its society, including widespread corruption, a 

2 deteriorating health care system, growing insta3 bility in the North Caucasus, and an increas4 ingly serious demographic crisis; and 

5 (B) stand ready to assist the people and 

6 Government of the Russian Federation in those 

7 efforts; 

8 (9) just as the United States welcomed the in9 creasing prosperity and political development of Ger10 many, Japan, and the nations Eastern Europe in 

11 the aftermath of former conflicts, the United States 

12 should welcome the emergence of the Russian Fed13 eration as a strong, successful, democratic partner 

14 in addressing global challenges; and 

15 (10) the leaders of the Russian Federation 

16 should respect the rights of sovereign, democratic 

17 governments in neighboring countries and their pre18 rogative to seek membership in Euro-Atlantic insti19 tutions. 

Æ 


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