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[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 629 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 629

 Expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to enhanced relations 
  with the Republic of Moldova and support for Moldova's territorial 
                               integrity.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 17, 2018

     Mr. Coons (for himself and Mr. Risch) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
 Expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to enhanced relations 
  with the Republic of Moldova and support for Moldova's territorial 
                               integrity.

Whereas the United States has enjoyed stable and positive relations with the 
        Republic of Moldova for over 25 years;
Whereas, since Moldova's independence in 1991, the United States has provided 
        financial assistance to support the people of Moldova's efforts to build 
        a prosperous European democracy;
Whereas the Governments of the United States and Moldova further strengthened 
        their partnership through the launching of the inaugural Strategic 
        Dialogue on March 3, 2014;
Whereas the United States Government seeks to help Moldova increase its 
        prosperity, secure its democratic institutions, secure its 
        internationally recognized borders, and integrate with Europe and the 
        Euro-Atlantic community;
Whereas the United States and Moldova continue to broaden and deepen their 
        partnership through advancing shared interests in democracy, good 
        governance, anti-corruption, energy independence, economic development, 
        and security cooperation through the relaunching of the Strategic 
        Dialogue on June 23, 2017;
Whereas corruption remains a major obstacle in Moldova, which inhibits the 
        country's ability to develop businesses, attract foreign investment, 
        ensure good governance, and pursue closer integration with the European 
        Union;
Whereas the Government of Moldova has been urged to fight corruption and improve 
        governance since Moldova's independence, particularly in the wake of a 
        2014 scandal involving the loss of over a billion dollars, and the 
        Government of Moldova has moved forward with certain reforms seeking to 
        address these issues;
Whereas efforts to improve governance and adopt domestic reforms are critical to 
        Moldova's ability to secure loan packages from international 
        organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and the European 
        Union;
Whereas the International Monetary Fund has approved a three-year loan package 
        premised on the continuation of reforms focused on strengthening the 
        economy, bolstering economic development, and promoting trade and 
        investment;
Whereas Moldova ratified an Association Agreement containing comprehensive free 
        trade provisions with the European Union in 2014, and the Agreement 
        became fully effective in July 2016;
Whereas the people and Government of the United States supports the democratic 
        aspirations of the people of Moldova and their expressed desire to 
        deepen their association with the European Union;
Whereas in a judgment in 2004, the European Court of Human Rights found that 
        Transnistria was formed with the support of the Government of the 
        Russian Federation and considered it ``under the effective authority or 
        at least decisive influence of Russia'';
Whereas the United States supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of 
        Moldova and on that basis participates as an observer in the ``5+2'' 
        negotiations to find a comprehensive settlement that will provide a 
        special status for the separatist region of Transnistria in Moldova;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation banned the import of Moldovan 
        wine in 2013, and Moldovan meats and produce in 2014, and has threatened 
        to ban Moldovan agricultural products, curtail the supply of energy 
        resources to Moldova, and impose stricter labor migration policies on 
        the people of Moldova;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation maintains a contingent of 
        Russian troops and a stockpile of Russian military equipment and 
        ammunition within the Transnistria region;
Whereas, by September 2016, the Government of the Russian Federation had issued 
        Russian passports to residents of the Transnistria region;
Whereas the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in 
        Europe, and the Government of Moldova have called upon the Government of 
        the Russian Federation to remove its troops from Moldovan territory;
Whereas, in May 2017, the Constitutional Court of Moldova ruled that Moldova's 
        constitutional neutrality means that the presence of foreign troops in 
        Moldova is unconstitutional;
Whereas, in July 2017, the Moldovan Parliament adopted a declaration calling on 
        the Government of the Russian Federation to withdraw its troops from 
        Moldova;
Whereas the Senate and the House of Representatives both passed by an 
        overwhelming majority, and the President signed into law Public Law 113-
        96, providing for a United States international broadcasting programming 
        surge to counter disinformation from Russian supported news outlets and 
        ensure that Russian-speaking populations in Ukraine and Moldova have 
        access to independent news and information;
Whereas Moldova has been a valued and reliable partner in promoting global 
        security by participating in United Nations peacekeeping missions in the 
        Central African Republic, Kosovo, and South Sudan;
Whereas Moldova cooperates with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization through 
        an Individual Partnership Action Plan to improve expertise, 
        interoperability, peacekeeping capabilities, military education and 
        training, and public sector reform;
Whereas, on June 22, 2018, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a 
        resolution calling on Russia to withdraw its troops from Transnistria;
Whereas, in August 2018, the Russian Federation conducted military exercises on 
        the western bank of the Dniester River in violation of the Agreement on 
        the Principles for a Peaceful Settlement of the Armed Conflict in the 
        Dniester Region of the Republic of Moldova, which Russia signed in 1992;
Whereas August 27 is Moldovan Independence Day, which commemorates the adoption 
        of Moldova's Declaration of Independence from the Soviet Union on August 
        27, 1991; and
Whereas Moldova will hold parliamentary elections in early 2019: Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) reaffirms it is the policy of the United States to 
        support the sovereignty, independence, and territorial 
        integrity of Moldova, and that Moldova has a sovereign right to 
        determine its own partnerships, free of external coercion and 
        pressure, including Moldova's right to associate with the 
        European Union or any regional organization;
            (2) supports the Strategic Dialogue as a means to 
        strengthen relations between Moldova and the United States and 
        enhance the democratic, economic, and security reforms already 
        being undertaken by Moldova;
            (3) encourages the Secretary of State and the Administrator 
        of the United States Agency for International Development to 
        focus United States assistance on supporting reforms that 
        strengthen the justice sector, promote an open, transparent, 
        and democratic government, foster independent media, increase 
        energy security, and promote inclusive economic growth in both 
        rural and urban areas;
            (4) encourages the Government of Moldova to continue 
        implementing crucial reforms to increase the capacity of and 
        trust in democratic institutions, strengthen the justice sector 
        through anti-corruption efforts, and maintain open space for 
        civil society to operate;
            (5) urges the Government of Moldova to enlist civil society 
        in anti-corruption efforts, in accordance with Article 13 of 
        the United Nations Convention against Corruption, to which 
        Moldova is a signatory;
            (6) reaffirms the importance of and support for free, fair, 
        and transparent elections in Moldova;
            (7) supports efforts to counter disinformation campaigns in 
        Eastern Europe in ways that are consistent with democratic 
        principles;
            (8) calls upon the Government of the Russian Federation to 
        fulfill its commitments made at the Istanbul summit of the 
        Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 1999, 
        and to withdraw its military forces and munitions from within 
        the internationally recognized territory of Moldova;
            (9) calls upon the Government of the Russian Federation to 
        refrain from issuing economic threats or exerting pressure 
        against Moldova and to cease any and all actions that support 
        separatist movements within the territory of Moldova; and
            (10) urges all parties to refrain from unilateral actions 
        that may undermine efforts to achieve a peaceful resolution, 
        and supports efforts to resolve the Transnistria issue through 
        a comprehensive settlement that secures Moldova's sovereignty 
        and territorial integrity.
                                 <all>
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