US’s Democratic and Republican senators introduced a legislation on Wednesday that aims to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. This label has been pushed by Ukraine but is not accepted by President Joe Biden’s administration.
“The need for this measure is more pressing now than ever before,” Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, one of the bill’s sponsors, told a news conference. He cited the killings of civilians and other “brutal, cruel oppression” in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion.
Another bill sponsor, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, said the designation would send a strong signal of support for Ukraine to Kyiv but also to U.S. allies. It will help impose stiff penalties on Russia like allowing it to be sued in U.S. courts for its actions in Ukraine and also tightening sanctions.
The two senators have been pushing the bill for months, visiting Kyiv in July to promote it. Yet, it is not clear if the bill will be up for voting.
Other lawmakers have joined them to push to designate Russia a state sponsor of terrorism. Democratic House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in July the designation was “long overdue.”
According to Reuters, Biden has said he does not plan such a designation for Russia. US officials say they do not feel that the designation is the most effective way to hold Russia accountable and that it could hinder deliveries of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.
“We have to take into account the consequences, intended and unintended” by such a designation, State Department spokesman Ned Price told a news briefing. “We are engaging with Congress on tools that would continue to have analogous implications for the Russian economy, for the Russian government, that would not have those unintended consequences.”
Moscow has informed Washington that diplomatic ties would be badly damaged and could even be cut off if Russia were to be added to the State Sponsor of Terrorism list. The list currently includes Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Syria.
