The European Parliament adopted a resolution recognizing Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism

The European Parliament adopted a resolution recognizing Russia as a state “sponsor of terrorism.” This was reported by the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs.

“[The European Parliament] condemns in the strongest terms war crimes and acts of terrorism against civilians committed by the Russian Federation and its agents to achieve their destructive political goals in Ukraine and on the territory of other countries, and recognizes Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism and a state using terrorist methods,” the text says.

Deputies note that their resolution does not have direct consequences, since the European Union does not currently maintain a list of countries such as the United States and Canada . They called on the leadership of the union and its member countries to develop sanctions and support the investigation of war crimes in Ukraine.

The resolution lists the events and victims of the war in Ukraine in 2022, as well as the war in Chechnya, the war with Georgia, the participation of the Russian military in the civil war in Syria and the participation of Wagner PMCs in conflicts in Africa. MEPs also mentioned the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, ex-intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and an explosion at an ammunition depot in the Czech Republic in 2014, which the country's authorities associated with the GRU.

Similar resolutions after the Russian invasion were adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the parliaments of the Baltic countries and Poland .