This resolution condemns Russia's nuclear escalatory rhetoric and implied threats on the potential use of nuclear weapons in the context of its invasion of Ukraine. The resolution also (1) condemns Russia's purported suspension of participation in the New START Treaty, (2) emphasizes the value of arms control agreements between the United States and Russia, and (3) calls on the administration to continue pursuing nuclear arms control and risk reduction with Russia and China.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 61 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 61
Expressing support for the continued value of arms control agreements
and negotiated constraints on Russian and Chinese strategic nuclear
forces.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 5, 2025
Mr. Markey 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 negotiated constraints on Russian and Chinese strategic nuclear
forces.
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 that ``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 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 Russian Federation 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 40,000
civilians and more than 650 children killed, along with the displacement
of over 10,000,000 Ukrainians;
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 unequivocal condemnation from the
United States and its western allies 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 the 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 April 8, 2010, and entered into force
February 5, 2011 (commonly known 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 the New START Treaty 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 nondeployed strategic launchers;
Whereas the New START Treaty has permitted robust and strict transparency and
verification measures and onsite 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 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 Department of State said in a report to Congress released in January
2024, ``The United States assesses that the Russian Federation likely
did not exceed the New START Treaty's deployed warhead limit in 2023.'';
Whereas Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on September 28, 2024, at a
United Nations General Assembly meeting that Russia continues to comply
with the New START Treaty numerical limits;
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, as well as 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 agreed limits on the United States and Russian strategic
nuclear arsenals after the expiration of the New START Treaty would
affect strategic stability and increase the risk of a costly and
unrestrained nuclear arms race: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) condemns in the strongest terms the use of nuclear
escalatory rhetoric and veiled threats to potentially use
nuclear weapons in the context of the illegal invasion of a
free and independent Ukraine;
(2) condemns the Russian Federation's purported suspension
of its participation in the New START Treaty;
(3) calls for immediate cessation of nuclear saber rattling
and nuclear escalatory rhetoric from the Russian Federation, or
by any other nuclear-armed state;
(4) emphasizes the continued value of arms control
agreements between the United States and the Russian
Federation, which possess the world's largest nuclear arsenals;
(5) calls for the Russian Federation to promptly return to
full implementation of the New START Treaty, including onsite
inspections, provision of treaty-mandated notifications and
data, and resumption of Bilateral Consultative Commission
meetings;
(6) calls on the administration to continue to actively
pursue a dialogue with the Russian Federation on a new nuclear
arms control framework and on risk reduction in order to
maintain strategic stability, ensure the conflict in Ukraine
does not escalate to nuclear use, and avoid an unrestrained
nuclear arms race following the expiration of the New START
Treaty;
(7) calls upon the United States and the Russian Federation
to continue to respect the numerical constraints on the
strategic deployed nuclear forces established by the New START
Treaty until such time as a new nuclear arms control framework
is established; and
(8) calls on the administration to continue to engage the
People's Republic of China in further bilateral talks on
nuclear risk reduction and arms control, and to pursue new
multilateral arms control efforts.
<all>
Submitted in Senate
Referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (text: CR S673-674)
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