III 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 530 

Calling on President George W. Bush and other leaders attending the 2006 

Group of Eight (G–8) Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, to engage 

in a frank dialogue with the President of Russia concerning actions 

of the Government of the Russian Federation that appear inconsistent 

with the Group’s objectives of protecting global security, economic stability, and democracy, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 14, 2006 

Mr. BIDEN (for himself, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. DODD, Mr. KERRY, 

and Mr. FRIST) submitted the following resolution; which was considered 

and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Calling on President George W. Bush and other leaders 

attending the 2006 Group of Eight (G–8) Summit in 

St. Petersburg, Russia, to engage in a frank dialogue 

with the President of Russia concerning actions of the 

Government of the Russian Federation that appear inconsistent with the Group’s objectives of protecting global security, economic stability, and democracy, and for 

other purposes. 

Whereas the leaders of 6 major industrialized democracies including France, West Germany, Italy, Japan, the United 

Kingdom, and the United States, gathered in 1975 for a 

summit meeting in Rambouillet, France, and for annual 


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•SRES 530 ATS 

meetings thereafter under a rotating presidency known as 

the Group of Six (G–6); 

Whereas the G–6 was established based on the mutual interest of its members in promoting economic stability, global 

security, and democracy; 

Whereas, in 1976, membership of the G–6 was expanded to 

include Canada; 

Whereas the members of the G–7 share a commitment to 

promote security, economic stability, and democracy in 

their respective nations and around the world; 

Whereas Russia was integrated into the Group in 1998 at the 

behest of President William Jefferson Clinton as a gesture of appreciation to then-President of Russia Boris 

Yeltsin for pursuing reforms and assuming a neutral position with respect to the eastward expansion of North 

Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); 

Whereas, in 2002, Russia was selected to hold the rotating 

presidency of the G–8 and to host the Summit of the G– 

8 in 2006; 

Whereas the official G–8 statement issued on June 26, 2002, 

in Kananaskis, Canada regarding the selection of Russia 

as host of the 2006 Summit stated that the decision reflected ‘‘the remarkable economic and democratic transformation that has occurred in Russia in recent years 

and in particular under the leadership of President 

Putin’’; 

Whereas in the intervening 4 years since Russia was selected 

to host the 2006 G–8 Summit, the Government of the 

Russian Federation has pursued policies that raise serious concerns about the commitment of the Government 


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•SRES 530 ATS 

of the Russian Federation to upholding democratic values 

both at home and abroad; 

Whereas the United States Department of State 2005 Country Report on Human Rights Practices noted that trends 

in Russia, including the ‘‘centralization of power in the 

executive branch . . . continuing corruption and selectivity in enforcement of the law, political pressure on the 

judiciary, and harassment of some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) [have] resulted in an erosion of the 

accountability of government leaders to the people’’ in 

Russia; 

Whereas, in 2005, the independent non-governmental organization Freedom House reclassified Russia from ‘‘partly 

free’’ to ‘‘not free’’ in its global survey of political rights 

and civil liberties; 

Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has 

placed onerous restrictions and monitoring requirements 

on non-profit organizations operating in Russia that limit 

the ability of both Russians and non-Russians to create 

a vibrant civil society in the country; 

Whereas the freedom of the media in Russia has been seriously compromised due to the Government of the Russian 

Federation’s continuing control and censorship of major 

mass media outlets and efforts to obstruct the reporting 

of independent journalists; 

Whereas regulators from the Ministry of Culture of the Government of the Russian Federation have reportedly 

threatened radio stations with revocation of their broadcast licenses if they continue airing material from the 

Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe/Radio 

Liberty (RFE/RL), thereby precipitating the largest deVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:40 Jul 18, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR530.ATS SR530

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crease in the number of outlets for VOA and RFE/RL 

reporting since the end of the Cold War; 

Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has 

sought to interfere in the electoral processes and democratic governance of neighboring countries including 

Georgia and Ukraine; 

Whereas Russia was the only member of the G–8 to applaud 

the outcome of fraudulent presidential elections in 

Belarus that were characterized by the Organization for 

Security and Cooperation in Europe as evidencing ‘‘a disregard for the basic rights of freedom of assembly, association, and expression’’; 

Whereas the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom and other monitoring organizations have 

reported increased evidence of racism, anti-Semitism, nationalism, and xenophobia among segments of Russian 

society; 

Whereas, in late 2005, Gazprom, a company majority owned 

and operated by the Government of the Russian Federation, insisted on a more than four-fold increase in the 

price charged for natural gas sold to Ukraine and subsequently shut off gas supplies to Ukraine, causing cascading energy shortages in many countries throughout 

Europe; 

Whereas there have been interruptions in the supply by Russia of energy to Georgia and Moldova; 

Whereas the March 2006 report of the Independent Task 

Force on Russia of the Council on Foreign Relations 

stated that ‘‘to protect the credibility of the G–8 at a 

time when many are questioning Russia’s chairmanship, 

the United States should make clear that this role does 


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not exempt Russian policies and actions from critical 

scrutiny’’; 

Whereas the United States recognizes and applauds the 

proud history of achievement, creativity, and sacrifice of 

the people of Russia; 

Whereas the United States seeks the development of Russia 

as a strong, responsible, democratic partner in promoting 

global peace and security; and 

Whereas the United States believes that both the people of 

Russia and the Government of the Russian Federation 

will be shackled in their efforts to build a strong society 

domestically and contribute to the work of the international community so long as the Government of the 

Russian Federation fails to fully embrace the values of 

democracy: Now, therefore, be it 

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

2 (1) in order to preserve the integrity of the G– 

3 8 as a forum of the leading industrialized democ4 racies of the world, President George W. Bush and 

5 other heads of state attending the G–8 Summit 

6 should explicitly, frankly, and honestly engage Rus7 sian Federation President Vladimir Putin in a dia8 logue about the anti-democratic behavior of the Gov9 ernment of the Russian Federation; 

10 (2) the United States and other democratic 

11 countries should reaffirm their support for civic and 

12 non-governmental organizations working to promote 

13 democracy and the rule of law in Russia; 


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1 (3) the Government of the Russian Federation 

2 should take action to ensure that it guarantees the 

3 full range of civil and political rights to its citizens, 

4 as it is obligated to do under the International Cov5 enant on Civil and Political Rights; 

6 (4) consistent with its obligations under the 

7 International Covenant, the Government of the Rus8 sian Federation should take steps to cease its inter9 ference with foreign news organizations, including 

10 the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio 

11 Liberty; 

12 (5) the Government of the Russian Federation 

13 should take action to combat rising racism, anti14 Semitism, and xenophobia in Russian society; and 

15 (6) the United States and countries of the G– 

16 8 should reaffirm their support for new democracies 

17 on the borders of Russia and, where applicable, ex18 pedite their integration into Euro-Atlantic institu19 tions to provide a bulwark for democracy in eastern 

20 Europe and the Caucuses. 

Æ 


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