Russia not ‘state sponsor of terrorism’ says US envoy as EU lists Kremlin's war crimes

Russia is not a “state sponsor of terrorism” as it does not fit the relevant criteria, the US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice Beth Van Schaack said on Wednesday, Nov 23. Speaking at a briefing, Schaack said that the US cannot designate Moscow as a terrorist state like the European Union. The EU Parliament on Wednesday adopted a resolution in response to Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine. The resolution was adopted by 494 votes in favour, 58 against with 44 abstentions.

EU MEPs highlighted the war atrocities committed by the invading Russian forces and their proxies against civilians in Ukraine. They condemned the destruction of civilian infrastructure, as well as the serious violations of international and humanitarian law that the EU insisted amounts "to acts of terror and constitute war crimes." The EU recognizes Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism and as a state that “uses means of terrorism”. The United States, however, denied that Russia can be designated in a similar way by the Biden administration. 

“The designation of a state sponsor of terror in terms of the way US law defines it is not a good match for Russia here,” Van Schaack said on the sidelines of the briefing, speaking to the reporters at Washington.

US exploring other potential designations: Ambassador

Washington, in this respect, is exploring other potential designations," said US Ambassador Beth Van Schaack. He noted that the US would instead slap more sanctions on Moscow that would weaken Russia's President Vladimir Putin's resolve in Ukraine. The designation of Russia a terror sponsor would not be necessary since the US is already “utilizing our sanctions to an incredible degree," she stressed, in a differing tone from the European allies. 

EU MEPs called on the Council to include the Russian paramilitary organization ‘the Wagner Group’, the 141st Special Motorized Regiment, also known as the “Kadyrovites”, and other Russian-funded armed groups, militias, and proxies, on the EU’s terrorist list. European parliament asked the bloc to isolate Russia internationally, including scrapping Russia’s membership of international organizations like the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). MEPs also pushed for severing diplomatic ties with Russia. EU contacts with official Russian representatives have to be minimized, they said, adding that Russian state-affiliated institutions in the EU that have been spreading war propaganda must also be banned.