Biden has made final decision not to designate Russia as state sponsor of terrorism

The US had made a final decision that it will not designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, the White House said on Tuesday.

Asked about doing so, US President Joe Biden told reporters on Monday that Moscow should not be designated despite Secretary of State Antony Blinken previously saying the US was studying the move.

Although Ukraine has heavily pushed for designating Russia as a state sponsor of terror, White House Spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden had made a final decision against it.

“It is not the most effective or strongest path forward,” Jean-Pierre told reporters. “This designation could have unintended consequences to Ukraine and the world,” she added, pointing to food exports and ship movement through the Black Sea.

Russia has publicly warned the Biden administration against the designation, saying it would have the potential to rupture diplomatic ties between the two countries completely.

Earlier this year, two US senators introduced a resolution to designate Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

Designating a country allows the US to issue more sanctions and restricts US foreign assistance to that country, and bans defense exports and sales, among other moves.

The US has designated only four countries as state sponsors of terrorism: Iran, Syria, North Korea and Cuba.