WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) today applauded the passage of a resolution they introduced affirming that the United States Senate views the actions of the government of the Russian Federation, at the direction of President Vladimir Putin, as sponsoring acts of terrorism. 

• GRAHAM: “To the Biden Administration: You have the complete unanimous support of the United States Senate to label Russia a state sponsor of terrorism. Do it.”

• BLUMENTHAL: “This designation is more than just symbolism – it has practical significance. I join in urging the Administration to heed this call…on this point, Americans are united. We’re backing Ukraine, we have your back. Your adversary is a state sponsor of terrorism. That’s the message I hope will come from Congress, and I respectfully suggest to the Secretary of State that he should follow that lead and heed that call because this moment is one that uniquely calls for that kind of leadership.”

• GRAHAM: “The sanctions have been effective, but we need to do more…there’s one thing we haven’t done in Washington that can really matter: designate Russia a state sponsor of terrorism under U.S. law. What does it mean? It means that doing business with Russia with that designation gets to be exceedingly hard – it has secondary effect sanctions, it would limit dual export items, and more importantly it would waive sovereign immunity when it came to suing Russia in U.S. courts. This designation would be a nightmare for Russia, it would be an encouraging event for the people of Ukraine, and more importantly, it would be a statement to the world that the United States, in a bipartisan fashion, when it comes to Russia, we are not forgiving and we are not forgetting.”  

• BLUMENTHAL: “Every time I think of this resolution, I have in my mind President Zelensky’s face as we presented him with a framed copy of the resolution. It’s difficult for me to overstate the sense of gratitude and even admiration as we presented him with this resolution which really marks a vote of support and confidence in the people of Ukraine as well as a condemnation of Vladimir Putin.”

• GRAHAM: “All 100 members of the United States Senate are urging the Biden Administration to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism…I didn’t think there was an issue under the sun that could get 100 Senate votes, but we found it: Russia is a state sponsor of terrorism.”

• BLUMENTHAL: “The designation of state sponsorship of terrorism puts Russia in a very small club – it consists of nations like Syria, Iran, and Cuba that are outside the bounds of civilized countries. They are pariahs. And that is exactly the designation that Russia deserves for what it has done in Ukraine as well as in other countries.”

• GRAHAM: “By the end of 2022, I want Russia to be designated a state sponsor of terrorism under U.S. law. I want to pass another aid package to Ukraine to help them militarily and economically…this designation is a very big deal. There are countries wondering where we are going to be…I’m hoping that Speaker Pelosi will put this on the suspension calendar. Let’s have a vote as soon as possible and then we go to Secretary Blinken and say we’ve got your back.”

• BLUMENTHAL: “The people of Russia, if they really knew what was happening in Ukraine, would be repulsed. Vladimir Putin is hiding the truth from them. Vladimir Putin is the reason for this invasion. Vladimir Putin is the one who can end the brutal, barbaric atrocities that are occurring in Ukraine right now.”

The Graham-Blumenthal resolution, which passed unanimously, makes clear the Senate:

• Views the actions of the Government of the Russian Federation, at the direction of President Vladimir Putin, as sponsoring acts of terrorism.
• Calls on the Secretary of State to designate the Russian Federation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism.

The State Sponsor of Terrorism (SST) designation allows additional categories of sanctions to be placed on a country, including restrictions on U.S. foreign assistance, ban on defense exports and sales, certain controls over exports of dual use items, and financial and other restrictions. If designated, Russia would join a small list of other countries who are designated as SSTs: Cuba, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Iran, and Syria.

Both Ukrainian President Zelensky and the parliament of Ukraine have appealed to Congress to encourage the Department of State to recognize the Russian Federation as an SST.

Watch Full Press Conference Here

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The full text of the resolution:

 

117TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION

Calendar No. 433

S. RES. 623

Calling on the Secretary of State to designate the Russian Federation as a state sponsor of terrorism.

 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 9, 2022

Mr. GRAHAM (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Mr. PORTMAN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

JULY 11, 2022

Reported by Mr. MENENDEZ, with an amendment and an amendment to the preamble

 

RESOLUTION

Calling on the Secretary of State to designate the Russian Federation as a state sponsor of terrorism.

 

Whereas, pursuant to section 1754(c) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (50 U.S.C. 4813(c)), section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2779A), and section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371), the authority to designate a country as a state sponsor of terrorism rests with the Secretary of State;

Whereas Cuba, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Iran, and Syria are designated as state sponsors of terrorism;

Whereas, 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;

Whereas, under the orders of President Putin, the Government of the Russian Federation engaged in a campaign of terror, utilizing brutal force targeting civilians during the Second Chechen War;

Whereas actions by the Government of the Russian Federation against civilian centers, such as Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, left countless innocent men, women, and children dead or wounded;

Whereas, since 2014, the Government of the Russian Federation has supported so-called separatists engaging in acts of violence against Ukrainian civilians in the Donbas region;

Whereas, since the entry of the Russian Federation into the Syrian Civil War in 2015, the Russian Federation has targeted innocent civilians in Syria with attacks on civilian markets, medical facilities, and schools;

Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation provides material support to Syria, a nation currently designated as a state sponsor of terrorism, that has been used to target the Syrian people;

Whereas the Russian Federation spreads terror throughout the world through private military networks of mercenaries, such as the Wagner Group, in an effort to project power cheaply and deniably;

Whereas the Wagner Group relies on the support of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Defense to advance the foreign policy objectives of the Russian Federation;

Whereas the Department of the Treasury identifies the Wagner Group as ‘‘a designated Russian Ministry of Defense proxy force’’ and states that ‘‘Wagner’s activities in other countries, including Ukraine, Syria, Sudan, and Libya, have generated insecurity and incited violence against innocent civilians’’;

Whereas it was reported in February 2022 that more than 400 Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group were dis- patched to Kyiv with orders from the Kremlin to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky and members of the Government of Ukraine;

Whereas, on March 14, 2022, Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Zbigniew Rau stated that actions of the Government of the Russian Federation in Ukraine against innocent civilians and civilian infrastructure is ‘‘state terrorism’’;

Whereas, on March 17, 2022, President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the world to acknowledge the Russian Federation as a terrorist state;

Whereas the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has appealed to Congress to encourage the Department of State to recognize the Russian Federation as a state sponsor of terrorism noting that ‘‘the Russian Federation has for years supported and financed terrorist regimes and terrorist organizations, including being the main supplier of weapons to the Assad regime in Syria and supporting terrorists in the Middle

East and Latin America, organizing acts of international terrorism, including the poisoning of the Skripal family in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ire- land, the downing of a civilian Malaysian airliner and other acts of terrorism’’;

Whereas, at the direction of President Putin, the Russian Federation has directed and authorized the indiscriminate targeting of civilian centers within Chechnya, Georgia, Syria, and Ukraine, resulting in the deaths of countless innocent men, women, and children; and

Whereas armed forces of the Russian Federation have com- mitted numerous summary executions against innocent civilians and have attempted to cover their atrocities with mass graves across Ukraine: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved,

SECTION 1. SENSE OF THE SENATE.

The Senate—

(1) views the actions of the Government of the Russian Federation, at the direction of President Vladimir Putin, as sponsoring acts of terrorism; and

(2) calls on the Secretary of State to designate the Russian Federation as a state sponsor of terrorism.

SEC. 2. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

Nothing in this resolution shall be construed as authorizing the use of military force or the introduction of United States forces into hostilities.