US Working On Alternative To Designating Russia As 'State Sponsor Of Terrorism' - Blinken

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th December, 2022) The US government is working with Congress to find alternatives to recognizing Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism in order to avoid financial implications, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday.

"We are constantly looking at different measures that we can take to, as necessary, increase the pressure. We are working with Congress right now on legislation that would help us get around some of the challenges of using the 'state sponsor of terrorism' designation, which as you (anchor) said has some monetary consequences. We are working with Congress on the way forward to get to the same place," Blinken told CNN.

On July 27, the US Senate passed a resolution calling on the US State Department to recognize Russia as "a state sponsor of terrorism" due to the events in Georgia, Syria, Russia's Chechen Republic and Ukraine. In September, the White House said that the US administration had made a final decision not to label Russia as "a state sponsor of terrorism."

Designating Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism will not help resolve all the issues in Ukraine and will make it harder to deliver humanitarian aid to that country, according to National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby.