III 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 593 

Expressing support for the continued value of arms control agreements and 

condemning the Russian Federation’s purported suspension of its participation in the New START Treaty. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 19, 2024 

Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. WARREN, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, 

Mr. WYDEN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. SANDERS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing support for the continued value of arms control 

agreements and condemning the Russian Federation’s 

purported suspension of its participation in the New 

START Treaty. 

Whereas the United States maintains bipartisan support to 

ensure national security and the defense of United States 

allies and partners; 

Whereas President Ronald Reagan stated ‘‘a nuclear war 

cannot be won and must never be fought’’ in his 1984 

State of the Union address, and affirmed the conviction 

with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985; 

Whereas, in January 2022, President Joseph R. Biden joined 

the leaders of the People’s Republic of China, the French 


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•SRES 593 IS 

Republic, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to reaffirm 

that ‘‘a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be 

fought’’; 

Whereas the United States, the Russian Federation, and the 

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 

signed the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, committing ‘‘to 

respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing 

borders of Ukraine’’ and ‘‘to refrain from the threat or 

use of force’’ against the country; 

Whereas the United States has a history of leadership in preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, including its work 

with Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the Russian 

Federation to ensure Ukraine did not retain any nuclear 

weapons left on its territory when it became independent; 

Whereas the Russian Federation further illegally invaded 

Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and has used veiled and 

blatant nuclear saber-rattling in service of its war of aggression against a sovereign state; 

Whereas the war has led to thousands of casualties, including 

over 10,000 civilians and more than 560 children killed, 

along with the displacement of over 6,400,000 Ukrainians and an enduring global food crisis; 

Whereas the Russian Federation’s illegal war against 

Ukraine represents the greatest threat to European security and freedom in a generation; 

Whereas, on February 27, 2022, President of Russia Vladimir Putin ordered his military to put Russia’s nuclear 

forces on ‘‘special combat readiness’’ in an escalatory response to the United States’ and its Western allies’ unVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Mar 19, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR593.IS SR593

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equivocal condemnation of the Russian Federation’s illegal invasion of Ukraine; 

Whereas, on September 21, 2022, President Putin warned he 

was ‘‘not bluffing’’ when he said Russia has ‘‘various 

weapons of mass destruction’’ and ‘‘will use all the means 

available to us’’ to defend its territory shortly before annexing additional Ukrainian lands through ‘‘referendums’’; 

Whereas, in February 2021, the United States and Russian 

Federation extended the Treaty between the United 

States of America and the Russian Federation on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, signed on April 8, 2010, and entered into force on February 5, 2011 (commonly referred 

to as the ‘‘New START Treaty’’), for 5 years until February 5, 2026; 

Whereas, on February 21, 2023, President Putin announced 

the Russian Federation’s purported suspension of the 

New START Treaty, the last major remaining bilateral 

nuclear arms control agreement, in a move deemed legally invalid by the United States; 

Whereas New START has had bipartisan support and limits 

the Russian nuclear arsenal to 1,550 warheads on no 

more than 700 deployed delivery vehicles, and to 800 deployed and non-deployed strategic launchers; 

Whereas New START has permitted robust and strict transparency and verification measures and on-site inspections, which have provided valuable insight into Russia’s 

nuclear arsenal; 

Whereas the United States has decades of bipartisan leadership in nuclear arms control, including cooperation with 


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•SRES 593 IS 

the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation even when 

relations were strained; 

Whereas, in June 2023, the United States Government announced it is now ready to engage in a dialogue with the 

Russian Federation on a post-2026 nuclear arms control 

framework and is ‘‘prepared to stick to the central limits 

as long as Russia does’’ while also stating a ‘‘willingness 

to engage in bilateral arms control discussions’’ with the 

Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China 

‘‘without preconditions’’; 

Whereas the nuclear weapon states recognized by the Treaty 

on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, done at 

Washington, London, and Moscow July 1, 1968 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty’’ or ‘‘NPT’’), including the Russian Federation, the 

United States, and the People’s Republic of China, have 

an obligation to ‘‘pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms 

race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament’’; 

Whereas, in November 2023, senior United States and Chinese officials held ‘‘a candid and in-depth discussion on 

issues related to arms control and nonproliferation as 

part of ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage the U.S.-PRC relationship’’; and 

Whereas the absence of a new framework for nuclear arms 

control after the expiration of New START would affect 

strategic stability and increase the risk of an unrestrained nuclear arms race with the Russian Federation: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 


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1 (1) condemns in the strongest terms the Rus2 sian Federation’s nuclear escalatory rhetoric and 

3 veiled threats on the potential use of nuclear weap4 ons to further its invasion and aggression against a 

5 free and independent Ukraine; 

6 (2) condemns the Russian Federation’s pur7 ported suspension of its participation in the New 

8 START Treaty; 

9 (3) calls for immediate cessation of nuclear 

10 saber-rattling and nuclear escalatory rhetoric from 

11 the Russian Federation; 

12 (4) emphasizes the continued value of arms 

13 control agreements between the United States and 

14 the Russian Federation; 

15 (5) calls for the Russian Federation to prompt16 ly return to full implementation of the New START 

17 Treaty, including on-site inspections, provision of 

18 treaty-mandated notifications and data, and resump19 tion of Bilateral Consultative Commission meetings; 

20 (6) calls on the President to continue to engage 

21 the People’s Republic of China in further bilateral 

22 talks on nuclear risk reduction and arms control, 

23 and to pursue new multilateral arms control efforts 

24 involving the 5 permanent members of the United 

25 Nations Security Council; and 


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1 (7) calls on the President to continue to pursue 

2 nuclear arms control and risk reduction dialogue 

3 with the Russian Federation to maintain strategic 

4 stability, ensure the conflict in Ukraine does not es5 calate to nuclear use, and avoid an unrestrained nu6 clear arms race. 

Æ 


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