European Parliament adopts resolution to define Russia as state sponsor of terrorism

BRUSSELS. Nov 23 (Interfax) - The European Parliament adopted a resolution which recognizes Russia as "a state sponsor of terrorism and as a state which uses means of terrorism," at a plenary meeting in Strasbourg on Wednesday.

The resolution passed by 494 votes, while 58 deputies voted against and 44 abstained.

The document brings a number of accusations against Russia, including those unrelated to the special military operation in Ukraine. It also suggests a set of measures which the European Parliament thinks the European Union should take.

For instance, the European Parliament urged the Council of the European Union to broaden the list of sanctioned persons and called on "all EU candidate countries and potential candidates to align with the EU's sanctions policy."

The European Parliament "calls on the Commission to come forward with a legislative proposal to amend the current EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime [...] by extending its scope to include acts of corruption, to swiftly adopt targeted sanctions against individuals responsible for high-level corruption in Russia and Belarus, as well as their EU-based enablers and beneficiaries," the resolution says.

It "asks the Commission and the Member States to consider possible measures against countries that try to help Russia circumvent the sanctions imposed; urges the Commission to ensure that national penalties for breaching EU sanctions are effective, proportionate and dissuasive."

In addition, European deputies recommend "an immediate and full embargo on EU imports of Russian fossil fuels and uranium, and for the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines to be completely abandoned."

Earlier this week, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly published a resolution, which recommends that Russia be designated "a terrorist regime."

A similar resolution was adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in October.

The European Parliament resolution adopted on Wednesday is an advisory recommendation for consideration by the European Commission and the Council of the European Union.