Final decision: why the Biden administration opposed the recognition of Russia as a "sponsor of terrorism"

The decision not to include Russia in the list of state sponsors of terrorism is final, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a briefing.

She noted that such a step would be counterproductive and would interfere with support for Ukraine and the settlement of the humanitarian situation.

Earlier, US President Joe Biden, during a conversation with reporters at the White House, said that he did not consider it necessary to give Russia the status of a state sponsor of terrorism.

In response to the relevant question, Biden answered “no,” RIA Novosti reports.

The Kremlin reacted to the position of the American leader.

Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov stressed that even raising such a question is unacceptable.

“The very posing of the question (about recognizing the Russian Federation as a state sponsor of terrorism. -

) is monstrous.

And of course, it’s good that the President of the United States answered this way, ”Peskov said in an interview with RBC television.

The Kremlin spokesman stressed that "even asking such a question is something that is very difficult to understand with the mind."

At the same time, Dmitry Peskov said that this statement by Biden can hardly be regarded as softening the anti-Russian rhetoric of the US administration.

Also, the press secretary of the President of Russia did not connect the words of the American leader with the work of the IAEA mission at the Zaporozhye NPP.

The recognition by the United States of any state as a sponsor of terrorism implies the introduction of severe restrictive measures against it.

These include: a ban on the export of goods for the defense sector, export controls on dual-use products, financial restrictions and other measures.

Most of these restrictions have already been imposed by Washington on the Russian Federation after the start of a special military operation in Ukraine.

At the moment, Iran, Syria, Cuba and North Korea are on the US State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Recall that earlier the parliaments of Latvia and Lithuania declared Russia "a state supporting terrorism."

Congressional initiative

In April, The Washington Post reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a telephone conversation with Joe Biden, asked that Russia be recognized as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Later, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said that the US Foreign Office was considering such a possibility.

“The sanctions we have and have adopted are tantamount to the same measures that would entail the inclusion of the country in the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

We will carefully consider all possible powers.

This is one of them,” Price said.

The idea of ​​giving the Russian Federation such a status received the greatest support in the US Congress.

So, in early July, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal visited Kyiv, who informed Zelensky about the preparation of the relevant bill.

Graham said he expects almost unanimous support for such a document in the upper house of the US Congress.

However, the White House did not take any steps to recognize Russia as a sponsor of terrorism.

Politico reports that the Biden administration's inaction on this issue prompted Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to say in a telephone conversation with State Department Secretary Anthony Blinken that the US Congress would give such a status to the Russian Federation.

Previously, Pelosi has already stated that giving the Russian Federation the status of a state sponsor of terrorism is “a long overdue measure.”

After that, on July 27, the US Senate passed a resolution calling on Anthony Blinken and the US State Department to recognize Russia as such a state.

In the document, the events in Chechnya, Georgia, Syria and Ukraine are called the reason for the corresponding decision.

It is worth noting that among the accusations against Moscow, the resolution included the episode of the poisoning of the Skripals (Russian special services are accused of being involved in it by Western authorities).

• Kremlin

• RIA News

The very next day after the adoption of the resolution by the US Senate, a group of congressmen from both parties announced their intention to submit a similar document to the House of Representatives of Congress.

The Politico newspaper reported that the parliamentarians planned to submit the bill in the near future, but the timing was not specified.

Tough measures

Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Moscow had repeatedly warned the United States that giving Russia the status of a state sponsor of terrorism would mean a break in diplomatic relations.

“We talked about this - and not only verbally, we also posted comments in writing and even translated into English.

Everything has been repeatedly stated, ”said Zakharova in the Sunday Evening with Vladimir Solovyov program.

In turn, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said the day before that the possible implementation of this initiative by the American Congress would lead to the toughest response from Moscow.

“Such a measure provides for the possibility of applying serious economic sanctions up to the confiscation of state assets.

At the same time, the US regulations do not explicitly mention the automatic termination of diplomatic relations.

I would like to note that declaring Russia a state sponsor of terrorism will be an unprecedented degree of cynicism, a decision that will lead to the toughest retaliatory actions on our part,” the Russian diplomat stressed.

• Joe Biden

• AP

At the same time, according to Antonov, judging by the statements of the US administration, it is not interested in a complete severance of diplomatic relations with Russia.

“Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has repeatedly said that the United States would like to have channels of two-way communication.

Meanwhile, congressmen continue to compete in whipping up Russophobic hysteria, demanding that the State Department recognize our country as a state sponsor of terrorism.

They are threatening to adopt a separate law on this matter, ”added the Russian ambassador.

political label

Vladimir Bruter, an expert at the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Studies, noted in a RT commentary that the Biden administration understands that giving Russia the status of a state sponsor of terrorism will mean a final and complete severance of all relations with Moscow.

“Now the American side is rotating the ambassador to the Russian Federation.

Biden, on the other hand, cannot appoint an ambassador to a state that is a "sponsor of terrorism."

The accusation of terrorism will mean a break in all relations, which Joe Biden obviously does not want, ”the expert emphasized.

Vladimir Bruter reminded that in this case the track for any dialogue on strategic stability, in which the United States is directly interested, will be finally closed.

“Washington has said many times that they want to conduct an inspection under the START III treaty, as well as continue the conversation on strategic stability and on the document that should replace START III.

How can they conduct such negotiations with "sponsors of terrorism"?

This is out of the question, so they refuse, despite the calls of the congress, ”the political scientist explained.

The US Congress believes that the status of a state sponsor of terrorism is just a political label for designating its opponents, said Pavel Feldman, candidate of political sciences, associate professor at the Academy of Labor and Social Relations, in an interview with RT.

“However, this is a specific tool that was created to simplify and speed up procedures aimed at suppressing countries that openly support banned radical organizations.

Putting Russia on a par with them is such an absurd idea that even the US State Department does not share it, ”the expert said.

Members of the US Congress in their desire to recognize Russia as a "sponsor of terrorism" do not think about all the possible consequences of such a step, Pavel Feldman added.

“The Biden administration, unlike senators and congressmen, has to deal with real politics, taking into account the consequences of certain decisions.

Recognition of Russia as a "sponsor of terrorism" would put an end to any attempts by Washington to contact Moscow.

The White House understands that even in the face of confrontation, bilateral contacts are necessary to maintain global security, ”the RT interlocutor concluded.