The Us Seeks to Classify Russia as “A State Sponsor of Terrorism”

In an interview with the media on the 18th, U.S. State Department spokesperson Psaki said that the U.S. is closely looking into the facts and the law related to labeling Russia as “a state sponsor of terrorism.” In addition, according to a senior administration official in Washington, the State Department is “looking at all possible ways” to hold Russia accountable for the Russia-Ukraine war, including the possible designation of Russia as “a state sponsor of terrorism”. The final decision is likely to be made in the next few weeks.
The State Department defines “a state sponsor of terrorism” as “a country that has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism.” Since 1979, both Republican and Democratic administrations have been rigorous to use the term and only labeled North Korea, Cuba, Iran, and Syria as such by this point.
According to sources quoted in an earlier report, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy requested that Russia be listed as a “state sponsor of terrorism” during his recent call with U.S. President Joe Biden in order to intensify the international community’s condemnation of Russia. However, at the time, Biden only expressed a willingness to explore a range of proposals rather than committing or taking specific action on the request.
The report noted that even during the Cold War, the U.S. had not dubbed this title to Moscow authority that had provided support to organizations deemed as terrorists by the U.S. Because once Washington categorizes Russia as a “state sponsor of terrorism,” the U.S. may need to impose economic sanctions on dozens of countries that have ongoing business with Russia, freeze all of Moscow’s assets in the U.S., and prohibit the export of certain items for commercial or military purposes.