The Parliament of the European Union on Wednesday, November 23, in Strasbourg voted by a majority to adopt a resolution recognizing Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism because of Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, DW reported.

By declaring Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, MEPs intend to prepare the ground to hold Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian government accountable to an international tribunal, according to the European Parliament's website.

The European Union has no legal basis for recognizing a third country as a state sponsor of terrorism. This was stated by European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson at the plenary session of the European Parliament on October 18, 2022. In this regard, the European Parliament in its resolution calls on the EU and its member states to develop a legal basis for designating state sponsors of terrorism and states that resort to terrorism.

Such a definition would be fraught with severe sanctions and restrictions on a particular country's relations with the EU. The EU Council should then consider adding the Russian Federation to such an EU list of state sponsors of terrorism, the European Parliament believes.