There have been calls from inside and outside the US that Russia should be designated as a 'sponsor of terrorism', but the US administration is being cautious.
The New York Times analyzed the reasons why the US State Department is hesitant to designate a state sponsor of terrorism on the 29th local time.
Congress and Ukraine have been pushing hard in recent weeks to designate Russia a state sponsor of terrorism.
The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution on the 27th that it should designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, which has carried out deadly attacks in Ukraine, Chechnya, Georgia and Syria.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also publicly called on the United States to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism at the G7 summit in late June.
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However, Secretary of State Tony Blincoln, who has the power to designate, took an ambiguous position at a press conference on the 26th, saying that Russia is already under a lot of sanctions.
The New York Times analyzed that the designation as a state sponsor of terrorism reflects the State Department's judgment that it is concerned that it will further damage economic actors already hit by Russia.
When designated as a state sponsor of terrorism, the US government must restrict aid and defense-related exports and sales, control the export of goods for military and civilian use, and impose sanctions on countries that do business with state sponsors of terrorism.
A senior official, who requested anonymity, feared the move would limit the administration's discretion to waive penalties for some transactions with Russia.
The United States allows trade with Russia in some areas, such as the food trade, but if it becomes a state sponsor of terrorism, all trade should be blocked.
This would make any dealings with the Russians by Americans impossible.
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Fundamentally, it is also analyzed that the Biden administration does not want the already limited diplomatic ties with Moscow to be completely cut off by designation as a state sponsor of terrorism.
On the 29th, Secretary Blincoln and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed the issue of the release of detained citizens by phone.
It was the first contact between the two ministers since Russia invaded Ukraine.
The United States wanted to continue working with Russia during the Ukraine war, including international talks to restore the Iran nuclear deal in 2015.
According to ABC News, the Biden administration says Russia is isolated from the international community, but that is not the case. .
The Biden administration is also under pressure from Democrats on this issue.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, has publicly said that Congress will step forward if the government does not designate a state sponsor of terrorism.
(Photo = Getty Image Korea, provided by the Office of the President of Ukraine, Yonhap News)