A resolution calling for a prompt multinational freedom of navigation operation in the Black Sea and urging the cancellation of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

III Calendar No. 57 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 27 Calling for a prompt multinational freedom of navigation operation in the Black Sea and urging the cancellation of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 24, 2019 Mr. JOHNSON (for himself, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. RISCH, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. REED, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. MURPHY, Ms. BALDWIN, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. BOOZ- MAN, Mr. BRAUN, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CARPER, Mr. CASEY, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. COONS, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. COTTON, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. DAINES, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. ENZI, Mrs. FISCHER, Mr. GARDNER, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. GRASSLEY, Ms. HASSAN, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. HOEVEN, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, Mr. JONES, Mr. KAINE, Mr. KENNEDY, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. MORAN, Mr. PETERS, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. ROMNEY, Mr. ROUNDS, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. SASSE, Mr. SCHATZ, Ms. SMITH, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. THUNE, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. TOOMEY, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. WICKER, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. MANCHIN, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. PERDUE, Mr. ISAKSON, Ms. MURKOWSKI, and Mr. CASSIDY) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations APRIL 4, 2019 Reported by Mr. RISCH, without amendment RESOLUTION Calling for a prompt multinational freedom of navigation operation in the Black Sea and urging the cancellation of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\SR27.RS SR27 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •SRES 27 RS Whereas, in late February 2014, the Russian Federation in- vaded and illegally occupied Ukraine’s Crimean penin- sula, in full contravention of the United Nations Charter and the Helsinki Final Act, which condemn the threat or use of force as means of altering international borders; Whereas the Russian Federation’s attempted illegal annex- ation of Crimea is also a direct violation of its pledges as a signatory to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and existing borders and to refrain from the threat or use of force against Ukraine; Whereas the inclusion of the United States and the United Kingdom as signatories to the Budapest Memorandum was essential in order to provide Ukraine the security as- surances needed to give up its nuclear arsenal; Whereas, on November 25, 2018, military forces of the Rus- sian Federation attacked and seized three Ukrainian Navy vessels and their crews as they attempted to transit the Kerch Strait between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov; Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation still has not released the Ukrainian crew members or returned the Ukrainian ships that were seized illegally; Whereas European Commissioner Julian King stated that the Government of the Russian Federation launched a disinformation campaign over a year ago designed to paint Ukraine and NATO as provocateurs in the Kerch Strait; Whereas, as part of the Russian Federation disinformation campaign, Russian state media outlets spread demon- strable falsehoods, including claims that Ukraine was VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR27.RS SR27 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •SRES 27 RS dredging the Kerch Strait seabed to facilitate the sta- tioning of a NATO fleet, that Ukraine had intentionally infected the sea with cholera, and that Ukrainian and British clandestine services were conspiring to destroy the Kerch Strait bridge with a nuclear weapon; Whereas the United States has important national interests in the Black Sea region, including the security of three NATO littoral states, the promotion of European energy market diversification by ensuring unfettered European access to energy exporters in the Caucuses and central Asia, and combating use of the region by smugglers as a conduit for trafficking in persons, narcotics, and arms; Whereas the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is a proposed under- water natural gas pipeline project that would provide an additional 55,000,000,000 cubic meters of pipeline capac- ity from the Russian Federation to the Federal Republic of Germany through the Baltic Sea; Whereas the Russian Federation’s state-owned oil and gas company, Gazprom, is the sole shareholder of the Nord Stream 2 project; Whereas, in 2017, there was spare capacity of approximately 55,000,000,000 cubic meters in the Ukrainian gas transit system; Whereas Gazprom cut off natural gas exports to Europe via Ukraine in 2006, and again in 2009, over supply and pricing disputes with Ukraine’s state-owned oil and gas company, Naftogaz; Whereas transit of Russian natural gas to Europe via Ukraine declined precipitously after the completion of Nord Stream 1 in 2011, falling from 80 percent to be- VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR27.RS SR27 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •SRES 27 RS tween 40 and 50 percent of Russia’s total exports to Eu- rope; Whereas, in 2017, Russian gas accounted for 37 percent of Europe’s natural gas imports, an increase of 5 percent over 2016; Whereas, on December 12, 2018, the European Parliament overwhelmingly passed a resolution condemning both the Russian Federation’s aggression in the Kerch Strait and the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline; and Whereas, on December 11, 2018, the United States House of Representatives passed a resolution calling upon the Eu- ropean Union to reject the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and urging the President to use all available means to pro- mote energy policies in Europe that reduce European re- liance on Russian energy exports: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) calls upon the President to work with 2 United States allies to promptly lead a robust multi- 3 national freedom of navigation operation in the 4 Black Sea to help demonstrate support for inter- 5 nationally recognized borders, bilateral agreements, 6 and safe passage through the Kerch Strait and Sea 7 of Azov and to push back against excessive Russian 8 Federation claims of sovereignty; 9 (2) calls upon the North Atlantic Treaty Orga- 10 nization to enhance allied maritime presence and ca- 11 pabilities, including maritime domain awareness and 12 coastal defense in the Black Sea in order to support 13 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR27.RS SR27 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •SRES 27 RS Freedom of Navigation Operations and allied inter- 1 ests; 2 (3) urges the President to use the authority 3 provided under section 1234 of the National Defense 4 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 (Public Law 5 115–91; 131 Stat. 1659) to enhance the capability 6 of the Ukrainian military; 7 (4) urges the President, through the Depart- 8 ments of State and Defense, to provide additional 9 security assistance to Ukraine, especially to 10 strengthen Ukraine’s maritime capabilities, in order 11 to improve deterrence and defense against further 12 Russian aggression; 13 (5) reiterates that the President is required by 14 statute to impose mandatory sanctions on the Rus- 15 sian Federation under the Countering America’s Ad- 16 versaries Through Sanctions Act (Public Law 115– 17 44); 18 (6) stresses that sanctions against the Russian 19 Federation are a direct result of the actions of the 20 Government of the Russian Federation and will con- 21 tinue and increase until there is an appropriate 22 change in Russian behavior; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR27.RS SR27 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •SRES 27 RS (7) calls upon United States allies and partners 1 in Europe to deny Russian Navy vessels access to 2 their ports to resupply and refuel; 3 (8) notes the resolution passed by the House of 4 Representatives on December 11, 2018, calling on 5 European governments to cancel the Nord Stream 2 6 pipeline and urging the President to support Euro- 7 pean energy security through a policy of reducing re- 8 liance on the Russian Federation; 9 (9) applauds and concurs with the European 10 Parliament’s December 12, 2018, resolution con- 11 demning Russian aggression in the Kerch Strait and 12 the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, calling for the pipeline’s 13 cancellation due to its threat to European energy se- 14 curity, and calling on the Russian Federation to 15 guarantee freedom of navigation in the Kerch Strait; 16 and 17 (10) urges the President to continue working 18 with Congress and our allies to ensure the appro- 19 priate policies to deter the Russian Federation from 20 further aggression. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR27.RS SR27 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR27.RS SR27 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS Calendar No. 57 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 27 RESOLUTION Calling for a prompt multinational freedom of navi- gation operation in the Black Sea and urging the cancellation of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. APRIL 4, 2019 Reported without amendment VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\SR27.RS SR27 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS