III 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 494 

Condemning the Government of the Russian Federation for providing weapons 

to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 14, 2012 

Mr. CORNYN (for himself, Mr. DURBIN, Ms. AYOTTE, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mrs. 

BOXER, Mr. RISCH, and Mr. MENENDEZ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Condemning the Government of the Russian Federation for 

providing weapons to the regime of President Bashar 

al-Assad of Syria. 

Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has an 

extensive history of providing weapons and political support to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, 

a country designated by the Secretary of State as a 

‘‘state sponsor of terrorism’’; 

Whereas, at the Port of Tartus in Syria, the Government of 

the Russian Federation maintains for the Russian Navy 

its only permanent warm-water naval port outside of the 

former Soviet Union, which bolsters the Assad regime; 

Whereas the Assad regime responded to the widespread, 

peaceful, and sustained calls for political reform that 


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•SRES 494 IS 

began in March 2011 in a manner that has caused the 

deaths of more than 10,000 people in Syria, mostly civilians, as of June 2012, according to an estimate by the 

United Nations; 

Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation remains 

the top supplier of weapons to the Government of Syria, 

reportedly providing nearly $1,000,000,000 worth of 

arms to the Government of Syria in 2011 alone; 

Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has 

unabatedly continued to ship arms to the Government of 

Syria during the ongoing popular uprisings; 

Whereas, on October 4, 2011, the Russian Federation, together with the People’s Republic of China, vetoed a 

United Nations Security Council resolution that would 

have condemned ‘‘grave and systematic human rights violations’’ in Syria and would have warned the Government 

of Syria of the actions, including sanctions, to be considered against it, if warranted; 

Whereas, on January 18, 2012, Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Lavrov criticized ‘‘the sending of 

so-called humanitarian convoys to Syria’’; 

Whereas, on January 19, 2012, Foreign Minister Lavrov 

stated that, with regard to the Government of Syria, 

‘‘For us, the red line is fairly clearly drawn. We will not 

support any sanctions.’’; 

Whereas, on February 4, 2012, the Russian Federation, together with the People’s Republic of China, vetoed a 

United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an 

end to the violence in Syria, demanding that all parties 

in Syria cease all violence and reprisals and implement 

the plan set out by the League of Arab States, expressing 


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•SRES 494 IS 

grave concern for the deteriorating situation in Syria, 

and condemning the widespread gross violations of 

human rights; 

Whereas, on March 13, 2012, Deputy Minister of Defence of 

the Russian Federation Anatoly Antonov stated that the 

Government of the Russian Federation would not halt 

arms shipments to Syria, acknowledging that the Government of the Russian Federation has military instructors 

on the ground training the Syrian Arab Army and stating, ‘‘Russia enjoys good and strong military technical 

co-operation with Syria, and we see no reason to reconsider it. Russian-Syria military co-operation is perfectly 

legitimate.’’; 

Whereas, on May 30, 2012, Permanent Representative of the 

United States to the United Nations Susan Rice condemned recent reports of an arms shipment that arrived 

in Syria from the Russian Federation on May 26, 2012, 

as ‘‘reprehensible,’’ stating that ‘‘this is obviously of the 

utmost concern given that the Syrian government continues to use deadly forces against civilians’’; 

Whereas, on May 31, 2012, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated that the policy of the Government of the Russian Federation toward the Government of Syria ‘‘is 

going to help contribute to a civil war,’’ maintaining that 

Russian officials ‘‘are just vociferous in their claim that 

they are providing a stabilizing influence,’’ and stating, 

‘‘I reject that. I think they are, in effect, propping up the 

regime at a time when we should be working on a political transition.’’; 

Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has thus 

far failed to effectively use its influence and relationship 

with the Assad regime to halt the murder of civilians in 


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Syria, including the massacre of over 100 people, many 

of them women and children, in Houla on May 25 to 26, 

2012; 

Whereas Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin rejected appeals by President of France Franc ̧ois Hollande 

for tougher United Nations sanctions aimed at ending violence in Syria; 

Whereas, on June 5, 2012, Secretary of State Clinton stated 

that ‘‘it’s pretty clear that we all have to intensify our 

efforts to speed a political transition. . . . And we invite 

the Russians and the Chinese to be part of the solution 

of what is happening in Syria’’; 

Whereas, on June 7, 2012, Permanent Representative of the 

Russian Federation to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin 

publicly criticized the Governments of Saudi Arabia and 

Qatar for supporting the opposition in Syria; and 

Whereas, on June 12, 2012, Secretary of State Clinton stated that ‘‘there are attack helicopters on the way from 

Russia to Syria, which will escalate the conflict quite dramatically’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) condemns the Government of the Russian 

3 Federation for— 

4 (A) its longstanding and ongoing support 

5 for the criminal regime of President Bashar al6 Assad in Syria; 

7 (B) continuing to transfer weapons to the 

8 Assad regime, which cannot be considered le9 gitimate for purposes of self-defense; and 


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1 (C) its troubling opposition to resolutions 

2 from the United Nations Security Council re3 garding Syria, including those recently tabled 

4 by the United States; 

5 (2) concludes that the actions of the Govern6 ment of the Russian Federation— 

7 (A) have enabled the Assad regime to 

8 maintain power and perpetrate mass atrocities 

9 against its own people; and 

10 (B) directly undermine the core national 

11 security interests of the United States, as well 

12 as the stability of the entire Middle East; and 

13 (3) urges the Government of the Russian Fed14 eration to— 

15 (A) immediately end all transfers of weap16 ons to the Assad regime; 

17 (B) call on the Assad regime to end all vio18 lence against civilians; 

19 (C) support international sanctions against 

20 Syria; and 

21 (D) support a peaceful transition of leader22 ship in the Government of Syria, starting with 

23 the early departure of Bashar al-Assad. 

Æ 


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