Republican Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said it was time to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism following the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
During an appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Graham said:
“As to what happened in Russia Navalny was one of the bravest people I have ever met. When he went back to Russia, he had to know he was going to be killed by Putin.”
“And he was murdered by Putin. So what- why don’t we do this?”
“I just got off the phone with two Democratic senators. Let’s make Russia a state sponsor of terrorism under U.S. law,” he said.
“Let’s make them pay a price for killing Navalny. It would allow the Navalny family to go to U.S. court and sue Putin’s Russia for killing of their loved one,” Graham added.
“A state-sponsored terrorism designation is a game changer.”
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“It would allow more sanctions, it would open up the American courtroom. I’ve been pushing on this for a year.”
Host Robert Costa asked:
“Do you expect legislation on that this week?”
Graham responded:
“Yes, absolutely. President Biden told Putin if something happens to Navalny, you’re going to pay a price.”
“President Biden, I agree with you. The price they should pay is to make Russia a state sponsor of terrorism like Iran, Cuba and North Korea.”
“They deserve this designation.”
“Putin’s been killing people, opposition leaders, for decades now. He’s dismembered Syria. He’s one of the world’s worst actors.”
READ: Putin Says Biden Is Better for Russia than Trump: More “Predictable”
