US Senate approves resolution to designate Russia as state sponsor of terrorism

The US Senate on Wednesday unanimously approved a nonbinding resolution calling for Secretary of State Antony Blinken to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.

The document condemns Moscow for actions in Chechnya, Georgia, Syria and Ukraine, which led to “the deaths of countless innocent men, women and children,” The New York Times reported. The resolution seeks to add Russia to a list that includes North Korea, Iran, Syria and Cuba.

“Armed forces of the Russian Federation have committed numerous summary executions against innocent civilians and have attempted to cover their atrocities with mass graves across Ukraine,” the bill was quoted as saying.

A similar document was earlier introduced in the House of Representatives sponsored by Republican lawmaker Joe Wilson of South Carolina and Democrat Ted Lieu of California. However, only the State Department has the power to designate a state sponsor of terror. 

With the Senate passing the resolution, US President Joe Biden’s administration is pressured into confronting Moscow over numerous reports of murder, torture and other acts of brutality conducted by the Russian forces in Ukraine.

On Tuesday, the State Department’s spokesman Ned Price commented on the possible designation by saying the process was underway of looking into “the criteria that Congress has written into law” and comparing “that to the facts on the ground”. Experts argue that such a move against Russia could complicate future negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine. 

Earlier in July, the US State Department placed Russia on a list of countries engaged in a “policy or pattern” of human trafficking, forced labor, and using child soldiers over Moscow's actions in Ukraine.