Russia Responds to EU ‘Sponsor of Terrorism’ Resolution

The European Parliament, which on Wednesday adopted a non-binding resolution branding Russia a “state sponsor of terrorism”, should be designated a “sponsor of idiocy,” Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said, according to RT.

The EU’s legislative body passed the decision on Wednesday in a landslide vote in Strasbourg. The document was supported by 494 MEPs, with 58 votes against and 44 abstentions. The resolution merged drafts penned by three different factions of the European Parliament.

The labeling is the EU’s latest condemnation of Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine. Some individual states, including Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and the Czech Republic, previously passed similar resolutions on a national level.

The move is largely symbolic, but the document urged member states to develop a new legal framework, which would allow the blacklisting, on terrorism grounds, not just individuals or organizations, but entire nations.