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[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 35 Referred in House (RFH)]

  1st Session
S. CON. RES. 35

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 23, 2005

          Referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Whereas the incorporation in 1940 of the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, 
        and Lithuania into the Soviet Union was an act of aggression carried out 
        against the will of sovereign people;
Whereas the United States was steadfast in its policy of not recognizing the 
        illegal Soviet annexation of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania;
Whereas the Russian Federation is the successor state to the Soviet Union;
Whereas the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939, including its secret protocols, 
        between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union provided the Soviet Union with 
        the opportunity to occupy and annex Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania;
Whereas the occupation brought countless suffering to the Baltic peoples through 
        terror, killings, and deportations to Siberian concentration camps;
Whereas the peoples of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania bravely resisted Soviet 
        aggression and occupation;
Whereas the Government of Germany renounced its participation in the Molotov-
        Ribbentrop Pact of 1939 and publicly apologized for the destruction and 
        terror that Nazi Germany unleashed on the world;
Whereas in 1989, the Congress of Peoples' Deputies of the Soviet Union denounced 
        the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939 and its secret protocols;
Whereas President Putin recently confirmed that the statement of the Congress of 
        Peoples' Deputies remains the view of the Russian Federation;
Whereas the illegal occupation and annexation of the Baltic countries by the 
        Soviet Union remains unacknowledged by the Russian Federation;
Whereas a declaration of acknowledgment of the illegal occupation and annexation 
        by the Russian Federation would lead to improved relations between the 
        people of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania and the people of Russia, would 
        form the basis for improved relations between the governments of the 
        countries, and strengthen stability in the region;
Whereas the Russian Federation is to be commended for beginning to acknowledge 
        grievous and regrettable incidents in their history, such as admitting 
        complicity in the massacre of Polish soldiers in the Katyn Forest in 
        1940;
Whereas the truth is a powerful weapon for healing, forgiving, and 
        reconciliation, but its absence breeds distrust, fear, and hostility; 
        and
Whereas countries that cannot clearly admit their historical mistakes and make 
        peace with their pasts cannot successfully build their futures: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress that the Government of the Russian 
Federation should issue a clear and unambiguous statement of admission 
and condemnation of the illegal occupation and annexation by the Soviet 
Union from 1940 to 1991 of the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and 
Lithuania, the consequence of which will be a significant increase in 
good will among the affected peoples and enhanced regional stability.

            Passed the Senate May 19, 2005.

            Attest:

                                             EMILY J. REYNOLDS,

                                                             Secretary.
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