U.S will not designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism

The U.S supports further restrictions on Russia in the form of sanctions and export restrictions, said Ambassador Julianne Smith

The United States currently does not consider it useful to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism but supports further restrictions on Russia in the form of sanctions and export restrictions, Ambassador Julianne Smith, U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO, said during a special online briefing to the Voice of America.

“Certainly from the U.S. perspective, I think you’ve heard President Biden and others across the administration comment on this. […] And the feeling in Washington is that this really isn’t necessary at the moment, and, in fact, could be perhaps counterproductive in the sense that it could inhibit or hinder our ability, for example, to either get humanitarian assistance into Ukraine or some of the grain out of Ukraine,” Smith said, answering questions from journalists.

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On November 23, with 494 votes in favour, the European Parliament declared Russia a “state sponsor of terrorism”. 58 deputies voted “against” and 44 “abstained”. The parliaments of Latvia and Estonia had previously separately declared Russia a “sponsor of terrorism”.