City of Dallas Resolution Supports Ukraine, Suspends Sister City Relationship With Russia

Dallas City Council Members Wednesday unanimously supported Mayor Eric Johnson’s resolution suspending future ties with Russia for invading Ukraine.

It will dissolve a long sister city relationship with Saratov, Russia.

“If we say Dallas is an international city, that's more than some sort of marketing campaign. That's got to be a real thing. If we're going to be a part of a global community, we've got to stand up at times like this and make our intentions and our feelings known,” Johnson said.

The Mayor’s resolution had strong support.

“Vladimir Putin and his regime need to understand that it's not just the European countries, but it's the Western countries and it's places like the City of Dallas that will stand up to any type of a bully out there, a war mongering bully,” Councilman Omar Narvaez said.

Carlo Capua, an International Sister Cities Board Member from Fort Worth, was the only public speaker opposing the measure.

“I just wanted to share why it is critical that we keep these Sister City relationships, especially right now,” Capua said.

He brought images of Fort Worth Pianist Van Cliburn’s 1958 visit to Russia for a piano competition during the Cold War era.

Cliburn won and Soviet Premier Nikita Kruschev was granted the award.

Cliburn returned to a ticker-tape parade in the US.

“He is credited with single-handedly melting a hole in the iron curtain,” Capua said.

Continued peaceful relations can help bridge great divides, Capua said. But his appeal was not successful at this time of war.

Mayor Johnson said he prefers the City of Dallas focus on basic services but this was an exception.

“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary actions and I think we are living through one of those extraordinary times. There is a real-life or death situation going on in Europe right now. We have people who are fighting for their freedom over there and this is a fight that is a defining one for this century that we find ourselves living in,” Johnson said.

The Mayor said the Dallas Ukrainian community deserves to know that the city is standing with them.

Chief Financial Officer Elizabeth Reich said Johnson’s resolution would apply to future business relationships with Russia or Russian entities.

Council members requested information on what Russian investments city pensions may have. 

The two employee pension systems have their own independent boards of directors but the City Council could ask them to divest Russian investments if any exist.