SENSE OF CONGRESS ON EXPANDING CONFIDENCE-BUILDING MEASURES

SEC. 901. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON EXPANDING CONFIDENCE-BUILDING MEASURES (a) Findings.—Congress makes the following findings: (1) Approximately two years have passed since the Conference on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures and Disarmament in Europe (CDE) adjourned in Stockholm following the adoption of measures designed to increase openness and predictability of military activities in Europe. 102 STAT. 2031 (2) To date, there have been seven formal observations and challenge inspections which have been conducted in accordance with the Stockholm agreements. (3) The military leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have concluded that the Stockholm observations and inspections have positively contributed to an improved understanding of Warsaw Pact forces and capabilities. (4) The Conventional Stability Talks (CST), which may begin before the end of 1988, will likely require careful and potentially prolonged negotiation. (5) New negotiations will also begin under the auspices of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) as a follow-on to the Stockholm conference. (6) The confidence-building measures established at Stockholm could, if expanded, contribute significantly to the success of the CDE follow-on conference and also to the establishment of a procedural framework for verifying a future CST agreement. (b) Sense of Congress.—It is the sense of Congress that the President should give high priority to developing, in coordination with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies of the United States, stabilizing and verifiable proposals for expanding the regime of confidence-building measures in conjunction with the follow-on to the Conference on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures and Disarmament in Europe (CDE) and the new Conventional Stability Talks (CST).