Sec. 1238. Sense of Congress regarding Russia’s violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention

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Congress finds the following: The United States ratified the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, known as the Chemical Weapons Convention , on April 24, 1997. The Russian Federation ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention on November 5, 1997. Article 1 of the Chemical Weapons Convention requires all signatories to never under any circumstances...use chemical weapons . Russia’s stock of chemical weapons has been implicated in the assassination or injuries of the following individuals:

Sergei Skripal, Yulia Skripal, and Wiltshire Police Detective Sergeant Nicholas Bailey, poisoned using the nerve agent novichok in Salisbury, England, in March 2018. Alexander Litvinenko, poisoned using polonium, in London, England, in November 2006, about whose death a January 2016 inquest ordered by the British Parliament concluded the FSB operation to kill Mr Litvinenko was probably approved by Mr Patrushev [then-director of the FSB] and also by President Putin . Russia has also demonstrated its disregard for the obligations imposed by the Chemical Weapons Convention by— continuing to provide military and diplomatic support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has used chemical weapons including chlorine gas and sarin against Syrian citizens; actively working to hinder the efforts of inspectors of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in Syria; and consistently using its veto power at the United Nations Security Council to prevent effective international action against Assad for such activities.

The Condition 10(C) Report on Compliance with the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction published by the Department of State in March 2018 asserts that Based on available information, the United States cannot certify that Russia has met its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention for declaration of its:

(1)[chemical weapons production facilities];

(2)[chemical weapons] development facilities; and

(3)[chemical weapons] stockpiles. In fact, due to Russia’s March 4, 2018, use of a military-grade nerve agent to attack two individuals in the United Kingdom, the United States certifies that the Russian Federation is in non-compliance with its obligations under the [Chemical Weapons Convention]. . It is the sense of Congress that the Russia’s actions constitute violations of Russia’s obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention.