The Biden administration is bucking growing calls from Congress, Ukraine, and U.S. allies to label Russia a terrorist state.

A nonbinding resolution unanimously passed by the Senate last week called on Secretary of State Antony Blinken to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. The resolution, introduced by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), charged the Russian government with terroristic conduct in the Second Chechen War, the Syrian Civil War, and the war in Ukraine.

Five House members are reportedly set to introduce additional legislation formally designating Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. The act goes farther than the Graham-Blumenthal resolution in that it actually makes the designation as opposed to calling on the Biden administration to do it. “There’s no legal reason Congress could not pass legislation to effectively designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism,” a Democratic aide told Politico. “Congress passing legislation is obviously a more complicated route than the secretary making the designation, but it would give the administration the political cover it needs to escalate economic pressure and rhetoric against Putin.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has shown a willingness to publicly diverge from the Biden administration on key foreign policy issues, warned Blinken earlier this month that Congress will make the designation itself if the White House does not, according to reporting by Politico.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and top Kyiv officials have repeatedly called on Washington, both publicly and in bilateral talks, to label Russia a state sponsor of terrorism. The move is presented by advocates as a means to further pressure Moscow, laying the groundwork for additional sanctions and punitive measures against countries that refuse to sever financial ties with Russia.

Blinken has so far resisted these calls, with administration officials expressing concerns that the designation would be counter-productive to a slew of U.S. policy goals. A senior official told the New York Times that the measure would make it more difficult to exempt trade transactions from the Western sanctions regime against Russia. This could further complicate the administration’s waivers for certain energy purchases as well as food and fertilizer imports. The move would also weaken Washington’s position in delicate negotiations to bring Tehran back into the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), better known as the Iran nuclear deal. As a close partner to Iran and a major geopolitical player in the Middle East, Russia has become a key mediator in talks to revive the JCPOA format. The terrorist sponsor designation threatens to make it exceedingly difficult for the United States to conduct any diplomatic business, whether on arms control or conflict resolution, with Russia.

With the House bill threatening to force Blinken’s hand, a principled difference emerges between the White House and parts of Congress: whereas a growing chorus of lawmakers seeks to effectively end all constructive contact with Moscow, the White House continues to believe that Russia is worth engaging across a wide range of policy issues. Biden appeared to reaffirm this stance on Monday, issuing a statement calling on Russia “to demonstrate that it is ready to resume work on nuclear arms control with the United States.”

Mark Episkopos is a national security reporter for the National Interest.

Image: Reuters.