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Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that it could have “counterproductive effects” to declare Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism for the invasion of Ukraine, a matter under consideration by Congress.
The leader of U.S. diplomacy also affirmed that the sanctions provided for in that mechanism, such as export restrictions, have already been imposed on Russia, so ” practice ” is already being carried out.
Blinken assured that he is working with Congress to look for alternative options to the terrorist sponsor designation that would allow Moscow to be punished without counterproductive effects, which he did not detail.
Two senators introduced a bill Wednesday to designate Russia as a sponsor of terrorism, a label the U.S. has placed on Cuba, North Korea, Iran, and Syria, which carries export bans and financial restrictions.
The Secretary of State also opined that the concerns expressed by China and India over the war in Ukraine during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit increased the “pressure” on the Kremlin to end the war.
On the discovery of 440 graves in the Ukrainian city of Izium in the Kharkiv region following the Russian withdrawal, Blinken said it is a further “reminder” of the “atrocities” Russia is committing and the U.S. is investigating for presentation to the International Criminal Court.
