US Congress called to recognize Russian Federation as state sponsor of terrorism
Following the signing of a partnership between Russia and North Korea and the deepening of military cooperation between them, senators from both leading parties in the US Congress presented a bill to recognize Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by the Voice of America.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said that in addition to the crimes Russia has committed in Ukraine and elsewhere, Putin's visit to North Korea is a new challenge and that now is "the right time" to pass the bill:
"The fact that Putin was bold enough to make a defense deal with North Korea... one of the most repressive regimes on the planet means that we have lost our deterrent... I urge the administration, given what Putin did yesterday, to go all-in and recognize his regime for what it is: a state sponsor of terrorism," Graham said.
In his turn, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal noted that the agreement signed between Putin and Kim Jong-un is "deeply frightening" and "hostile to the United States, peace, freedom and justice around the world".
"The two most autocratic leaders in the world who commit atrocities stand together and sponsor terrorism... Russia deserves to be in this small, selective club of atrocity killers," - Blumenthal said.
In the prerequisites that qualify Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, the senators note, among other things, "the illegal invasion of sovereign Ukraine in 2022, which led to the brutal murder of thousands of innocent civilians."
In addition, the senators propose to include the poisoning of Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko in 2004, the poisoning of former Russian FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko in 2006, and the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 350 in Donetsk region in 2014 as evidence of Russia's terrorist activities, support for the bombing of Aleppo in Syria in 2016, the poisoning of former Russian military officer and British double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the UK in 2018, and the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in 2024.
Will US lawmakers pass this bill?
Regarding the possibility of passing this bill, Senator Blumenthal stressed that there is currently bipartisan support in Congress for a bill to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.
"This bill is bipartisan and has other signatories. And for me, this is a priority because I personally saw what Russia did in Ukraine."
The Democratic senator noted that the document is also being discussed with the US presidential administration.
"I spoke to the administration about this document. They are certainly sympathetic to our goals. We have worked on some points. We plan to continue working with them. But I think it's time for us to move forward now," Blumenthal said.
Graham, commenting on the approval of the bill by the White House, added that he did not consider the recognition of Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism to be a provocative step on the part of Washington.
"I think we are acting rationally... If you are worried about being too provocative towards Russia, stop worrying. Stop worrying! You are not being too provocative. We need to win when it comes to Russia. And the last real tool in the toolbox that we can use is to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism," Graham said.
In early February of this year, a group of British MPs called on British Foreign Secretary David Cameron to consider recognizing Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.
