Biden said this weekend that he does not believe Russia should be designated a state sponsor of terrorism, and now the Kremlin is praising the president, announcing on Tuesday that Moscow is grateful for Biden’s stance that the United States should avoid designating Russia. The Kremlin “appreciates” that Biden does not recognize Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, according to TASS. “It’s good that the US president responded in this way,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told RBC TV, according to TASS. “The wording of the question itself is monstrous.” If the United States were to designate Russia, Moscow would join the ranks of North Korea, Syria, Iran and Cuba. News of Biden’s interest in avoiding Russia’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism comes as Russia appears desperate for any wins. Ukrainian forces have launched a counteroffensive in southern Ukraine targeting Kherson, which Russian forces captured in the first days of the war. Russia’s defense minister announced that Russia is slowing down the war. Putin is working to form a new army battle group, but has had to rely on recruiting prisoners and eliminating the upper age limit. A key Russian general, the head of Russia’s national guard, told Putin just last week that Ukrainians support the Russian invasion of Ukraine in an apparent attempt to placate a visibly shaken Putin. And more than six months after the war, Putin’s military-industrial complex is struggling to keep up with construction to support Russian forces in Ukraine. In a sign of how desperate Russia has become, it is turning to North Korea for millions of artillery shells and rockets, two US officials told The Daily Beast on Tuesday. The White House National Security Council said it was concerned about the fallout from Russia’s potential designation as a state sponsor of terrorism. “This characterization could have unintended consequences for Ukraine and the world. According to humanitarian experts and NGOs we have spoken with, it could seriously impact the ability to deliver aid to areas of Ukraine,” NSC spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement to The Daily Beast, adding that the White House remains concerned about with whether a designation would undermine the ability of the Biden administration to support Ukraine at the negotiating table. The White House said it was working with Congress to find new ways to hold Russia accountable in the meantime. “We have engaged with Congress on this and want to work with them on how we can create new accountability mechanisms that fully express our outrage at Russia’s war crimes, atrocities and aggression, while actually holding Russia accountable. for these atrocities,” Watson said. Biden’s comment comes weeks after Russia warned the United States not to label Russia a state sponsor of terrorism. Russia’s designation, a step that would bring new sanctions and restrictions on defense exports, would send diplomatic relations between Moscow and Washington to an all-time low, according to Russia’s foreign ministry director for North America, Alexander Darchiev. “We’ll have to put them on the list and then move on.” “Washington should pass the point of no return, with the most serious collateral damage to bilateral diplomatic relations, up to the reduction or even termination of them,” Darchev said in an interview with TASS last month. “The American side has been warned.” While Biden may be heeding the warning, the legislative branch is not on board. Pressure from Capitol Hill has, in recent months, pushed the Biden administration to help Ukraine better respond to the Russian invasion, including by sending advanced missile launchers, or the High Mobility Artillery Missile System (HIMARS), to Ukraine. Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), one of several lawmakers behind a proposal in the House of Representatives to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, told the Daily Beast that he doesn’t think Biden’s stance here is the right one. “The tangible support we provide to Ukraine and the sanctions against Russia are far more important than any symbolic designation,” Malinowski told The Daily Beast. “But Russia deserves it, given its support for violent extremists and proxies like the Wagner Group, so I still think we should put them on the list and then move on.” Texas Representative Michael McCaul, the Republican leader on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, criticized Biden’s stance. “President Biden’s sudden and unequivocal dismissal of a state sponsor of terrorism for designating Russia is unacceptable,” McCaul told the Daily Beast. “The mounting evidence of widespread Russian war crimes in Ukraine and Putin’s willingness to threaten nuclear destruction at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant require the US and its allies to do everything in their power to isolate and hold accountable the Putin regime for its unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine.” Momentum is slowly building in Congress to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism and push Biden further than his administration wants to go. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Rob Portman (R-OH) have introduced a non-binding resolution in the Senate urging the State Department to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. All 100 senators have stood behind the resolution. The House measure, sponsored by Malinowski, along with Reps. Ted Lieu (D-CA), Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), Joe Wilson (R-SC) and Jared Golden (D-ME), goes one step further and it will override any sluggishness in the Biden administration to take the next steps, with or without the State Department. US Secretary of State Tony Blinken has previously said Russia is “terrorizing” the Ukrainian people, but has said he does not see the move as relevant at this time. “The costs that have been imposed on Russia by us and by other countries are fully in line with the consequences that would result from being designated as a state sponsor of terrorism. So the practical results of what we do are the same,” Blinken told reporters in late July.
