- The European Parliament on Wednesday designated Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, arguing that its military strikes on Ukrainian civilian targets such as energy infrastructure, hospitals, schools and shelters violated international law.
- European lawmakers voted in favour of a resolution calling Russia a state sponsor of terrorism.
- The EU, US and United Kingdom have already imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia over its war in Ukraine.
- But US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has so far refused to place Russia on a “terrorism” list despite resolutions in both chambers of Congress urging him to do so.
- The US State Department currently designates four countries – Cuba, North Korea, Iran and Syria – as state sponsors of terrorism, which means these countries are subject to defense export embargoes and financial sanctions.
- So far parliaments of four countries – Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland – have named Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism in the European Union, according to the European Parliamentary Research Service.
European Parliament declares Russia a ‘state sponsor of terrorism’
