During the visit of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to Kyiv, the President of Ukraine raised many issues. One of them was the official recognition of Russia as a country sponsoring terrorism.
Vladimir Zelensky spoke about this during an evening address, reports Channel 24. The head of state noted the need to recognize Russia as a sponsor of terrorism.
Russia is the biggest source of terrorism in the world
Vladimir Zelensky stressed that now Russia is the largest in the world as a sponsor of terrorism, therefore the head of state insists on the official recognition of this status by the United States.
I raised the issue of officially recognizing Russia as a terrorist state. Legal reality must always correspond to actual reality. And it is a fact that Russia has become the biggest source of terrorism in the world. You can choose this or that format of procedures, this or that formula of legal pressure against Russia for terror, but the world must receive an unambiguous signal that Russian terror will not be forgiven, the President emphasized.
Recognition of Russia as a sponsor of terrorism: the main thing
Back in May, the Verkhovna Rada appealed to the US Congress with a request to recognize Russia as a sponsor of terrorism.
The US State Department and its head, Anthony Blinken, are responsible for listing countries as sponsors of terrorism. In July, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi urged Blinken to do so or Congress would decide on its own. Pelosi argued that Congress gave the State Department the authority to create a list of terrorist countries. A few days later, a resolution was adopted in Congress, which urged Blinken to add Russia to the list.
However, on September 6, US President Joe Biden announced that the United States would not recognize Russia as a sponsor of terrorism. The White House subsequently explained that this allegedly could have negative consequences. The fact is that the recognition of terrorism as a sponsor implies the introduction of new sanctions, including secondary ones, against countries and companies that will continue cooperation with Russia.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba assured that, despite the words Biden, Ukraine will continue to demand recognition of Russia as a sponsor of terrorism.
