"Two senators announced legislation Thursday that would designateRussiaas a state sponsor of terrorism, a move that would put Moscow in a small notorious group because of its defense pact with North Korea.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed their defense agreement on Wednesday.
Sens. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, and Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat, introduced a resolution to designate the Russian Federation as a state sponsor of terrorism."
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/jun/20/senators-want-to-designate-russia-as-state-sponsor/
The designation would trigger more aggressive sanctions, such as export controls, a ban on foreign aid and restrictions on access to international financing. In addition to North Korea and Iran, Cuba and Syria are the only other nations with the designation.
The White House said Thursday that it would speed up the delivery of air defense interceptor missiles to Ukraine by redirecting shipments intended for other allies. The action is intended to help Ukraine fend off increasing Russian attacks on its energy grid.
Mr. Blumenthal held up a photo of Mr. Putin and Mr. Kim meeting inNorth Koreaand said their collaboration added to the laundry list of reasons to labelRussiaas a state sponsor of terrorism. The Russia-North Korea pact guarantees that if one of the countries is invaded and pushed to war, the other will come to its defense.
“I rest my case,” Mr. Blumenthal said. “Two of the most autocratic, atrocity-committing offenders in the world, standing together, terrorist sponsors.”
Mr. Graham said the terrorist designation would boost morale in Ukraine. He said countries that want to conduct business with Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism would be doing so “at their own peril.”
The designation would also bolster existing sanctions against theRussian Federationand grant access to U.S. courts to victims of “Putin’s barbaric behavior” in Ukraine, he said.
Neither lawmaker provided a timeline for bringing the resolution to the Senate floor, but they were open to forcing a vote if necessary.
Mr. Blumenthal said he had discussed the measure with the Biden administration and noted that the White House is “sympathetic to the goal.”
“Here’s a general rule,” Mr. Graham said. “Anybody that does a defense agreement withNorth Koreashould be a state-sponsored terrorist.”
The lawmakers said the resolution was no substitute for continued military support to Ukraine in its war againstRussia.
At the White House, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Patriot and NASAMS, or surface-to-air missiles, “rolling off the production line will be provided to Ukraine.”
The White House wouldn’t say which countries would be affected or how long other countries would have to wait but described the Ukraine deliveries as a 16-month project.
Mr. Kirby said countries in the waiting line for near-term foreign military sales will receive their orders.
“It’s just that the delivery timelines will now take a little longer,” Mr. Kirby said. “We’ll do the best we can to minimize their delay as best as possible.”
The Biden administration is taking the step becauseRussiahas accelerated its drone and missile attacks against Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure.
Russia has been pounding Ukraine’s power grid, with a seventh attack Thursday on Ukrainian power plants since Moscow intensified energy infrastructure attacks three months ago.
Mr. Kirby said the agreement between Russia and North Korea came as no surprise. The U.S. has tried to counter the countries’ growing relationship by enhancing alliances with regional allies such as South Korea, Japan, Australia and the Philippines.
He said those partnerships “put us in the best possible position to be able to thwart any threats and challenges, not just on the Korean Peninsula but elsewhere in the region.”
“That’s not to say that this development, this agreement, is not a concern. Of course it is,” Mr. Kirby said.
He characterized the agreement as a “sign of Russia’s desperation.”
“They don’t have a lot of friends in the world, and they’re trying to pull on the string of the friends that they do have,” Mr. Kirby said.
