The US Senate approved a resolution calling on the State Department to recognize Russia as a State Sponsor of Terrorism.

The corresponding document is published on the website of the congress.

“The Senate considers the actions of the government of the Russian Federation under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin as sponsoring acts of terrorism and calls on the Secretary of State to assign the status of a state sponsor of terrorism to the Russian Federation,” the resolution says.

The reason for the decision is the events in Chechnya, Georgia, Syria and Ukraine.

In addition, Russia is credited with "sowing terror in the world with the help of private military networks of mercenaries" to allegedly "advance foreign policy goals", as well as the poisoning of the Skripals and the attack on the Malaysian Boeing 777.

At the same time, the document notes that earlier President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky made a call to recognize Russia as a “terrorist state”, and then the Verkhovna Rada sent a corresponding request to Congress.

The list of sponsors of terrorism may include states that, in Washington's opinion, have repeatedly supported acts of international terrorism.

On countries that are assigned this status, the United States considers itself entitled to impose strict restrictions.

Among them are a ban on the export and sale of defense sector goods, control over the export of dual-use products, financial and other restrictions.

In addition, the United States can impose sanctions against other states that maintain trade relations with a country recognized as a sponsor of terrorism.

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At the moment, four states appear on the list of the US State Department: Cuba (since 2021), North Korea (since 2017), Iran (since 1984) and Syria (since 1979).

"Measures of an idiotic nature"

In Russia, the US Senate resolution drew condemnation.

As Sergey Tsekov, a member of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs from the Republic of Crimea, said in a RT commentary, Washington is doing this because all its "efforts to turn Russia into a rogue state have failed."

“Given that they failed, they came up with a new one: Russia is a “sponsor of terrorism,” Tsekov said.

In the State Duma, the decision of the American senators was called populism and "Russophobic nonsense."

According to the head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, Leonid Slutsky, US lawmakers should remember their support for gangs in the Caucasus and the so-called moderate terrorists in Syria.

Slutsky also noted that if the State Department follows the lead of "the populists from the Senate, then it will sign its own incapacity as a foreign agency."

Meanwhile, at the end of April, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that if the United States continues to develop the initiative to give Russia the status of a country sponsoring terrorism, then these steps will not go unanswered.

“All the measures that they will take, even of such an idiotic nature, will be developed and continued.

We certainly ... leave nothing unanswered, and they must understand this, ”said the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, on the air on the Soloviev LIVE YouTube channel.

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In turn, the Kremlin warned that if the United States recognizes Russia as a country sponsoring terrorism, this will have negative consequences for bilateral relations.

“We assess the consequences of such a step very negatively,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on July 21.

At the same time, he noted, it is very difficult to do something that can further spoil relations between Russia and America.

“They are already in an unenviable position,” Peskov added.

Under pressure

It is noteworthy that the State Department itself has so far refrained from unequivocal statements on this matter.

In particular, the head of the department, Anthony Blinken, at a press conference on July 27, noted that the possible classification of Russia as a sponsor of terrorism would not have much practical effect.

“The costs that we and other countries have imposed on Russia are completely consistent with the consequences that follow from assigning the status of a state sponsor of terrorism.

Therefore, the practical effect of our actions here is the same,” he stressed.

At the same time, Blinken added that the State Department continues to study this issue for its compliance with US law.

According to him, the criteria by which the department determines whether a country meets the definition of "sponsor of terrorism" are established by Congress.

And the State Department's job is to match them with the facts about the prospective candidate to ensure that those facts meet the criteria set out in the law, Blinken explained.

Meanwhile, the American media note that, although the resolution is not binding, it demonstrates pressure from lawmakers on the administration of President Joe Biden.

In particular, this was pointed out by The New York Times columnist Eduardo Medina.

He recalled that a resolution similar to the Senate one was also submitted to the lower house of the US Congress, where Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, supports it.

Tool for speculation

Experts interviewed by RT tend to consider the current resolution more of a declarative act, since the State Department is currently not in the mood to further aggravate relations with Russia.

“Otherwise, this will mean the burning of absolutely all bridges, which in the future could contribute to the establishment of negotiations with Russia.

After all, the Biden administration understands that at some point they will have to return to dialogue - both on the future of Ukraine and on the upcoming security organization in Europe.

But how to discuss such moments with a country that you yourself call a sponsor of terrorism?”

- American political scientist Malek Dudakov explained in an interview with RT.

He also noted that if Russia is given this status, not only the foreign policy relations of Moscow and Washington will suffer, but also other areas in which the countries are still interacting.

“After all, this will be followed by all sorts of restrictions on the work of American companies in Russia, on concluding contracts with it, and so on.

And de facto, such a step on the part of Washington would mean a break in relations with Moscow, which still does not meet its interests, ”the analyst said.

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Andrey Sidorov, head of the Department of International Organizations and World Political Processes at the Faculty of World Politics of Moscow State University, shares this opinion.

“If Russia is nevertheless assigned this status, it will make it impossible to build a dialogue even at the lowest level and the question of maintaining diplomatic relations will arise.

It is no coincidence that the State Department is very restrained on this matter ... In addition, the Russian Federation is a nuclear power that cannot be ignored, ”Sidorov said in an interview with RT.

In turn, the director of the Franklin Roosevelt Foundation for the Study of the United States at Moscow State University, Yuri Rogulev, suggested that the current resolution could be used by various political forces within the country due to the escalating struggle on the eve of the midterm congressional elections.

In addition, he believes, this is also a "curtsey towards Ukraine."

“This document is a political gesture in the direction of Ukraine in order to create the appearance of fulfilling Kyiv’s requests,” the analyst believes.

Viktoria Fedosova, deputy director of the RUDN Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts, member of the MGER political council, in turn, notes that Kyiv is given the opportunity to present this resolution as a victory for domestic consumers.

“The United States in this situation is not particularly at risk.

Everyone is satisfied with the current information campaign.

For Ukraine, this is like a victory at Eurovision: a trifle, but you can show your tongue to Moscow, ”the expert explained.

At the same time, even if the United States still recognizes Russia as a country sponsoring terrorism, this will hit them first of all, she added.

“If earlier they relied on the authority of the United States and such a step really made the state an outcast, then it will not work out with Russia.

Even if such a status is given to it, this, firstly, will be another blow to Washington's reputation.

And secondly, it will finally break the trade chains, which is already fraught with a massive economic catastrophe, ”summed up Fedosova.