Latvia declares Russia a ‘state sponsor of terrorism’
On August 11, Deputies of the Latvian Saeima, adopted a statement in which they declared Russia a state sponsor of terrorism.
"Russia uses suffering and intimidation as tools in its attempts to demoralise the Ukrainian people and armed forces and paralyse the functioning of the state. The Saeima recognises Russia's violence against civilians committed in pursuit of political aims as terrorism and Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism and calls on other like-minded countries to express the same view," the statement reads. Latvian MPS also called on the EU countries to immediately stop issuing tourist and other entry visas to Russian and Belarusian citizens.
"To achieve the goals of its illegal, aggressive war, Russia seeks to intimidate and demoralise the Ukrainian people and armed forces, to paralyse the functioning of the state in order to occupy Ukraine, that is, Russia is perpetrating this violence to attain political objectives," said Richards Kols, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Seimas.
According to the AFP agency, Russia's actions against the population of Ukraine in the document are called "purposeful genocide".
In May, the Seimas of Lithuania recognized the Russian military invasion of Ukraine as genocide, and Russia itself as a state that supports terrorism. At the end of July, The New York Times wrote that a bipartisan group of members of the US House of Representatives introduced a bill recognizing Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. If adopted by the US Congress and signed into the law, Russian Federation will be included in the list despite resistance if the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The list already includes North Korea, Syria, Cuba, and Iran.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Russia would severe diplomatic relations with the United States if Washington declares Russia a country sponsor of terrorism.