New bill recognizing Russia as state sponsor of terrorism introduced in U.S.

After the U.S. Department of State refrained from implementing a "non-binding" resolution of the U.S. Senate designating Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, Republican Congressman Ted Lieu has introduced a new bill for consideration by the House of Representatives.

The document has been published on the congressman's official page, Ukrinform reports.

"At the direction of President Vladimir Putin, the Government of the Russian Federation has and continues to promote acts of international terrorism against political opponents and nation states," the bill reads.

The document recalls crimes committed by the Kremlin regime on the international stage and in Russia itself, including the mass destruction of the civilian population during the Second Chechen War, support for criminal organizations in the temporarily occupied territories of the Donbas and the terror that was unleashed there against Ukrainian citizens, terrorist actions committed with the state support of Russia in Syria, Sudan, and Libya, terrorist attacks in the United Kingdom, and the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

The bill also recalls Russia's terrorist actions on Ukrainian territory already after the military invasion in February of this year, including with the use of mercenaries from the Wagner Group, mass murders of civilians in the occupied territories of Ukraine.

"The United States has a range of tools available to hold the Russian Federation accountable, reduce its war machine, and isolate it economically and diplomatically, including by designating it as a state sponsor of terrorism and imposing corresponding sanctions," the bill said.

On July 28, the upper house of the U.S. Congress unanimously adopted a resolution calling on the U.S. Department of State to label Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.

According to The New York Times, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he was not ready to make a decision on recognizing Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, despite a corresponding resolution passed by the U.S. Senate, because it could force the U.S. to sanction some allies and complicate further diplomatic contacts with Russia.