Bill S.1189, On Countering Malicious Actions Due to Terrorist Activities by Russia, will be considered by the US Senate Foreign Affairs Committee next week, December 11th. Information about this appeared on the official website of the committee.
The text of the bill indicates that it was submitted by Republican Corey Gardner and transferred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. According to the document, the Secretary of State was instructed "to determine whether the Russian Federation should be recognized as the state sponsor of terrorism, and the Russian-supported armed groups in Ukraine as foreign terrorist organizations."
“Not later than 90 days after the entry into force of this law, the Secretary of State must submit to the relevant congressional committees a conclusion on whether the Russian Federation meets the criteria for being recognized as a state sponsor of terrorism. The conclusion must be presented in a non-classified form, but if necessary, may have a classified application, ”the draft law says.
Moreover, the document notes that “in the Donetsk region of Ukraine” there are formations allegedly “controlled by the Russian Federation or receiving support from it”.
“No later than 90 days after the entry into force of this law, the Secretary of State must submit to the appropriate congressional committees a conclusion on whether the armed formations located in the Donetsk region of Ukraine and controlled by the Russian Federation or receiving support from it, or armed groups related to “Donetsk People’s Republic” or “Lugansk People’s Republic”, or controlled by them, criteria for recognition by foreign terrorist organizations, ” the text of the bill.
Recall, the State Department has created a list of countries sponsoring terrorism, which has been replenishing since 1979. The first to such states the United States ranked Syria, after 14 years - Sudan, then Iran and two years ago the DPRK.
The description of this list on the website of the foreign ministry also indicates that sanctions are applied against these states - from economic and financial restrictions to a ban on the supply of arms and increased control over the export of dual-use goods. In addition, those countries and persons that enter into trade transactions with states from this list fall under the restriction.
- Corey gardner
- AFP
- © Zach Gibson / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA
“Use in the election campaign”
As Vladimir Batyuk, head of the Center for Military-Political Research at the Institute for US and Canada Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, notes, the State Department has long had an idea to declare some states or regions to be terrorist, but “there was no reason for that.
“Now, of course, they started to promote the corresponding bill again in connection with the election campaign. All this is directly related to the fact that the participants in the political race want to prove to ordinary Americans that they are patriots and guard the interests of the United States, ”the analyst said in a conversation with RT.
A similar point of view is shared by the expert of the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Studies Vladimir Bruter. According to him, Congress, and Gardner in particular, does not care how this “anti-Russian” bill is true.
“Congressmen are only concerned about how it will correspond to their political plans and activity, as well as how all this can be used in the election campaign. For people who propose draft laws of this kind, the main thing is how beneficial it is for them and whether they can tell US citizens that they are doing everything possible to protect them from Russia, ”the analyst said in an interview with RT.
According to Bruter, the "project to contain Russia" of the American political establishment "has not even reached the middle."
“All this will continue for many years. And this initiative on the possible inclusion of Russia in the list of terrorist countries is only an insignificant element of this campaign, designed to form an image of the enemy and potential threat for the United States around Russia, ”the expert explained.
In addition, with this kind of anti-Russian initiative, the US side is simultaneously urging European countries to abandon the idea of improving relations with Moscow, Bruter believes.
“Washington is seeking to form an understanding among European countries that any attempt to establish ties with Russia will be extremely negatively perceived by the American political elite,” the analyst said.
- Capitol
- AFP
- © SAUL LOEB
"They shoot at their feet"
Recall that Russia has repeatedly emphasized that it has nothing to do with the conflict in the Donbass that arose as a result of a coup in Ukraine in the winter of 2014. When this armed confrontation just started, Deputy Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, Alexander Pankin, called the statements of the North Atlantic Alliance and a number of Western countries about the movement of Russian military and military equipment across Ukraine “propaganda fake”.
“Now in the Western capitals and through NATO, loud statements about the virtual movements of armored columns and troops from Russian territory are again shaking the air. But no one provides real facts and evidence. All these conversations are empty, this is a common propaganda fake, ”he said at a meeting of the UN Security Council.
Moscow has also repeatedly pointed out that Western countries, including the United States, have so far failed to provide evidence of the presence of Russian troops in Ukraine.
Two years ago, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that reports about the introduction of Russian troops into the territory of Donbass "do not have any texture at all."
In addition, the Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized that for some reason none of the Western colleagues “wonders, on the basis of what international legal norms are mercenaries (from other countries. - RT ) fighting in parts of the regular army of Ukraine”.
- Representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia Maria Zakharova
- RIA News
- © Maxim Blinov
According to Vladimir Bruter, the information contained in the bill submitted by Gardner that allegedly there are formations in the Donbass that are “controlled” by the Russian Federation or “receive support from it” are statements “from the high-likeli series”.
“From the fact that Russia provides humanitarian assistance to the DPR and LPR, it does not follow that it violates something. Self-proclaimed republics appeared as an element of the regional power structure during the break of the previous Ukrainian state. The fact that Russia maintains relations with these republics does not equal the malicious plan for Ukraine, ”the expert noted.
At the same time, Bruter recalls that it is Kiev that is trying to solve the civil conflict on its territory by military means, which "deserves reprimand." However, the West somehow “considers this to be normal,” the analyst notes.
“Instead of establishing a political dialogue, they accuse Russia of allegedly not allowing Ukraine to resolve this internal issue, and therefore they accuse it of terrorism. However, this is a kind of perversion of positions, ”said Bruter.
Vladimir Batyuk agrees with him.
“There are no facts that would indicate the presence of Russian troops in the territory of these republics or the supply of military materials. This is pure speculation, ”the expert stated.
At the same time, Batyuk notes that the American political establishment as a whole "has a desire to continue the sanction and propaganda war against Russia."
“Therefore, it is entirely possible that such a resolution will be adopted by the Senate of the US Congress,” the analyst said.
However, the restriction that may ensue after this will hit primarily the United States itself, Batyuk emphasizes.
“This mainly affects American companies, many of which would not want to sever ties with the Russian Federation. This will be another example of how the Americans themselves shoot at their feet to demonstrate their global leadership, ”the expert concluded.