OSCE Parliamentary Assembly recognizes Russia as state sponsor of terrorism

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on Tuesday adopted a final declaration in which it called Russia a state sponsor of the terrorist Wagner Group.

Yevheniia Kravchuk, the member of the Ukrainian delegation in PACE, made the relevant report. 

The final document indicates that the actions of the Wagner PMC on behalf of the Russian government can be "fairly characterized as terrorism."

OSCE member states should take measures against the Wagner Group and its affiliated and successor structures, in particular by declaring them a terrorist organization.

The assembly also called on the OSCE members "to reinforce international norms which clearly recognize the terroristic nature of the Wagner Group and its actions, the responsibility of the Russian Federation as the state sponsor of said terrorist organization, and the inadmissibility of employing such actors in inter-state relations."

For the first time, such wording is established in an official document of an international organization! I hope this decision will become a catalyst for recognizing the aggressor state as a sponsor of terrorism in the US and the whole world, added Kravchuk.

Wagner Group has been accused of torturing and executing civilians and POWs in Ukraine, Syria, and other countries. The U.S. has designated Wagner as a "significant transnational criminal organization" and imposed sanctions on its support network worldwide.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe became the first international organization to recognize Russia as a terrorist state – it adopted a corresponding resolution in October 2022.