The US administration is looking into the possibility of including Russia into the US list of state sponsors of terrorism, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has told reporters.
She reiterated that the matter was up to the US Department of State to decide.
“This requires a determination by the Department of State on specific criteria in congressional statute. So we’re looking into it along with a range of other proposals to impose further costs on Russia,” the press secretary said.
Jean-Pierre did not elaborate on other possible anti-Russian measures currently under consideration by the Joe Biden administration.
Earlier, Kiev pressed Washington to put Russia on this list. Similar statements were echoed by a number of Congressmen. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova earlier castigated Washington over its ‘idiotic’ gamble to brand Russia as a sponsor of terrorism and warned that this move won’t go unanswered.
The ‘state sponsor of terrorism’ designation is applied by Washington to countries that have allegedly “repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism”.
The American government has broad authority to impose sanctions against those on the list. The US Department of Treasury can take action against those entities and individuals, as well as states that trade with countries on the list.
The listing of a state can have significant consequences in terms of further restrictive measures. Since 1979, Washington has added only a handful of countries to its list. Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Syria are currently on the list.
On Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the Biden administration did not see much practical effect from a possible inclusion of Russia on the US list of countries sponsoring terrorism.
Source: Agencies
