US President Joe Biden refused to put Russia on the list of state sponsors of terrorism. Experts assume that Biden made such a decision not to ruin relations with Russia completely.
Earlier, Joe Biden responded negatively to a question about whether he considered it necessary to include Russia in the list of sponsors of terrorism. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow positively assessed his decision.
"Asked if Russia should be designated a state sponsor of terrorism, Biden said, "No"," Reuters reporter at the White House Jeff Mason tweeted.
Biden's statement came into contrast to the opinion of US Congress and his inner circle. The Russian Foreign Ministry has recently made it very clear to Washington that Russia would terminate its relations with the United States if the State Department approved this Congress package. Biden apparently decided not to cross the red line.
On August 8, US Senators Richard Blumenthal and Lindsey Graham demanded that Russia be recognized as a state sponsor of terrorism. Maria Zakharova, an official representative for the Russian Foreign Ministry, responded by saying that Moscow would terminate relations with Washington should the latter designate Russia as such.
On Monday, September 5, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov warned that the decision to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism would be a decision of an unprecedented degree of cynicism, which would lead to the toughest response from Moscow.
Such a move could lead to serious economic sanctions, up to the confiscation of state assets, Antonov added.
The Russian Foreign Ministry believes that the United States is aware of all the consequences of such a decision, otherwise they will have to forget about relations with Russia.
On August 8, US Senators Richard Blumenthal and Lindsey Graham demanded that Russia be designated a sponsor of terrorism. According to Graham, the inclusion of Russia in the list of state sponsors of terrorism will show the world that the United States was ready for everything in the issue of Ukraine.
At the same time, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is resisting attempts to recognize Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. The Biden administration is cautious about this idea, despite strong calls from Congress and requests from the Ukrainian authorities.
The State Department considers the recognition of Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism a nuclear option. Analysts say that this could sever all of the Biden administration's few remaining diplomatic ties with Moscow once and for all.