•HCON 99 IH
about a fair, equitable, and peaceful settlement between
warring factions in Yugoslavia;
Whereas the bilateral meeting was conducted not to negotiate
United States or North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) policy but to provide the framework for a peace-
ful solution to this conflict with full appreciation of Ad-
ministration goals;
Whereas the Balkan crisis, including ethnic cleansing and
terrorism, is one of the most serious challenges to inter-
national security since World War II;
Whereas the Balkan crisis in Kosovo creates serious threats
to global and regional security and may undermine ef-
forts to discourage the proliferation of nuclear weapons;
Whereas this crisis increases the threat of further human and
ecological catastrophes, as evidenced by the growing ref-
ugee problem, and creates obstacles to further develop-
ment of constructive United States-Russian relations;
Whereas the humanitarian crisis will not be solved by bomb-
ing and a diplomatic solution to the problem is preferable
to the alternative of military escalation;
Whereas the attendees of the Vienna meeting recognize the
basic principles of the territorial integrity of the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia, which include (1) wide autonomy
for Kosovo, (2) a multi-ethnic population, and (3) treat-
ment of all Yugoslavian peoples in accordance with inter-
national norms; and
Whereas the attendees of the Vienna meeting support efforts
to provide international assistance to rebuild homes of
refugees and other humanitarian assistance, as appro-
priate, to victims in Kosovo: Now, therefore, be it
•HCON 99 IH
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that—
(1) the Speaker of the House of Representa-
tives, in consultation with the minority leader of the
House of Representatives, and the majority leader of
the Senate, in consultation with the minority leader
of the Senate, and the Administration should sup-
port the efforts and recommendations of the United
States Congress-Russian Duma meeting in Vienna,
Austria, held April 30 to May 1, 1999, in order to
bring about a fair, equitable, and peaceful settlement
between warring factions in Yugoslavia;
(2) in order to achieve the settlement described
in paragraph (1), focus should be provided on the
following 3 tasks (without regard to sequence)—
(A) the termination of bombing by the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) of
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia;
(B) the withdrawal of Serbian armed
forces from Kosovo; and
(C) the cessation of the military activities
of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA); and
(3) the tasks described in paragraph (2) should
be accomplished through a series of confidence-build-
•HCON 99 IH
ing measures, which should include (but are not lim-
ited to)—
(A) the release of all prisoners of war held
by all sides;
(B)(i) the voluntary repatriation of all ref-
ugees in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
and unhindered access to them by humanitarian
aid organizations; and
(ii) the policing by NATO of the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia borders with Albania
and Macedonia to ensure that weapons do not
reenter the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia with
the returning refugees or at a later time;
(C)(i) an agreement on the composition of
the armed international forces which would ad-
minister Kosovo after the Serbian withdrawal;
and
(ii) an understanding that the composition
of the group should be decided by a consensus
agreement of the five permanent members of
the United Nations Security Council, in con-
sultation with Macedonia, Albania, the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia, and the recognized
leadership of Kosovo, and that the group will be
supplemented by the monitoring activities of the
•HCON 99 IH
Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE); and
(D) all possible actions by the United
States Congress and the Russian Duma in
order to successfully move ahead the process of
resolving the situation in Yugoslavia on the
basis of stopping the violence and atrocities.
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