The non-binding resolution was unanimously approved by the Senate
A non-binding resolution calling on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to designate Russia as a sponsor of terrorism was unanimously approved by the Senate on Wednesday.
According to the bill, introduced by Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Moscow deserves the label for its actions in Russian Chechnya, as well as Georgia, Syria and Ukraine, resulting “in the death of countless innocent men, women and children.”
The bill accused Russian forces of committing war crimes during the ongoing military operation in Ukraine and of trying to cover them up, echoing Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s talking points over the past few years. last months. Moscow has consistently denied the claims, accusing US-backed Kyiv forces and mercenaries of targeting civilians.
Graham and Blumenthal traveled to kyiv earlier in July to meet with Zelensky and promote their drive to name Russia as a sponsor of terrorism. The Ukrainian leader “thanked the senators for this important activity”, said his office.
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Sergey Tsekov, a member of the Russian Federation Council’s Foreign Affairs Committee, reacted to the US senators’ decision by insisting that Russia has always been a “protecting country” who fights terrorism.
The American “Efforts to turn Russia into a pariah state have failed and because of this blunder they have come up with a new idea that Russia is a sponsor of terrorism,” said Tsekov.
A similar bill has been introduced in the US House of Representatives, where it is strongly supported by Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Politico reported last week that Pelosi had warned Blinken that if he does not designate Russia as a sponsor of terrorism, Congress will do so itself by passing the relevant legislation.
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Those behind putting Russia on the same list as Cuba, North Korea, Iran and Syria argue it would allow them to increase sanctions pressure on the country by expanding restrictions beyond targeting specific sectors of its economy.
In April, State Department spokesman Ned Price argued that “punishments [against Russia] that we have in place and that we have taken are the same measures that would be involved in designating a state sponsor of terrorism.
Speaking on the same issue on Tuesday, Price pointed out that the State Department is responsible for taking “the criteria that Congress has enshrined in law” regarding the designation of Russia as a sponsor of terrorism and “to compare that to the facts on the ground.” That’s what the agency did recently, he added.
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