Two senators announced legislation Thursday that would designate Russia as a state sponsor of terror, a move that would put Moscow in a small and notorious group that includes North Korea and Iran, in the wake of Russia’s mutual defense pact with Pyongyang.
Sens. Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal introduced the Designating the Russian Federation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism Act after Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed their defense agreement on Wednesday.
The designation would trigger more aggressive sanctions such as export controls, ban foreign aid and restrict access to international financing. Besides North Korea and Iran, Cuba and Syria are the only other nations currently with the designation.
The lawmakers’ move came on the same day that the White House said it will speed up delivery of air defense interceptor missiles to Ukraine by redirecting shipments that were intended for other allies. The action is intended to help Ukraine fend off increasing Russian attacks on its energy grid.
Mr. Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat, held up a photo of Mr. Putin and Mr. Kim meeting in North Korea, and said their collaboration added to the laundry list of reasons to label Russia as a state sponsor of terror. The Russia-North Korea pact would guarantee that if one of the countries was invaded and pushed to war, the other would come to its defense.
“I rest my case,” Mr. Blumenthal said. “Two of the most autocratic, atrocity-committing offenders in the world, standing together, terrorist sponsors.”
Mr. Graham, South Carolina Republican, said that among other things, the terror designation would be a morale boost to the people of Ukraine. He said if the designation were put in place, countries that wanted to do business with Russia would be doing so “at their own peril.”
It would also bolster earlier sanctions against the Russian federation, and grant access to U.S. courts to victims of “Putin’s barbaric behavior” in Ukraine, he said.
Neither lawmaker provided a timeline on when the bill could be put on the Senate floor for a vote, but were open to forcing a vote if necessary.
Mr. Blumenthal said that he had discussed the measure with the Biden administration, and noted that while the White House is “sympathetic to the goal,” the time to label Russia a state terrorist sponsor is now.
“Here’s a general rule,” Mr. Graham said. “Anybody that does a defense agreement with North Korea should be a state-sponsored terrorist.”
The lawmakers agreed that while the measure was important, it was no substitute for continued military support to Ukraine in its war against Russia.
At the White House, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Patriot and NASAMS, or surface-to-air missiles “rolling off the production line will be provided to Ukraine.”
The White House wouldn’t say which countries would be affected, nor how long other countries will have to wait, but described the Ukraine deliveries as a 16-month project.
But Mr. Kirby said countries in the waiting line for near-term foreign military sales will still get their orders.
“It’s just that the delivery timelines will now take a little longer,” Mr. Kirby said. “We’ll do the best we can to minimize their delay as best as possible.”
The Biden administration is taking this step because Russia has accelerated its drone and missile attacks against cities and civilian infrastructure.
Mr. Kirby also weighed in on the pact between Russia and North Korea, and noted that the agreement came as “no surprise.” The U.S. has made efforts to counter the countries’ growing relationship by enhancing alliances with regional allies such as South Korea, Japan, Australia and the Philippines.
He said that those partnerships “put us in the best possible position to be able to thwart any threats and challenges, not just on the Korean peninsula but elsewhere in the region.”
“That’s not to say that this development, this agreement, is not a concern. Of course it is,” Mr. Kirby said.
But he characterized the agreement as a “sign of Russia’s desperation.”
“They don’t have a lot of friends in the world and they’re trying to pull on the string of the friends that they do have,” Mr. Kirby said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.