The US Congress presented a bill for the designation of Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism

The US House of Representatives (the lower chamber of the US Congress) presented a bill providing for the designation of the Russian Federation as a state sponsor of terrorism.

The US Senate earlier adopted a similar resolution. The senators indicated that Russia should be listed as a state sponsor of terrorism for its actions in Chechnya, Georgia, Syria, and Ukraine, which have "left countless innocent men, women, and children dead or wounded."

This resolution is of a recommendatory nature and is not mandatory, although it creates additional pressure on the US State Department, which can declare a state a sponsor of terrorism.

But despite the adoption of this resolution, as well as many calls to recognize the Russian Federation as a sponsor of terrorism by the authorities of Ukraine and many other countries, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in no hurry to make a corresponding decision. As The New York Times reports, Blinken stressed that "any decision must be based on existing legal definitions," and Russia is already under the number of sanctions.

However, if Congress approves the Senate bill, the State Department's decision will be unnecessary: ​​legislators can pass a law recognizing the Russian Federation as a sponsor of terrorism without the State Department's involvement.

Recognizing the Russian Federation as a state sponsor of terrorism would mean that the US may have to expand its sanctions beyond just certain sectors of the Russian economy. For countries with this status, restrictions on US foreign aid, a ban on the export and sale of defense products, control over the export of dual-use goods, and financial and other restrictions are introduced. In addition, sanctions will be imposed on individuals and countries that trade with a state sponsor of terrorism.

Now, the United States has recognized four states as state sponsors of terrorism: Cuba, North Korea (DPRK), Iran, and Syria.