Sunday 25 September 2022 04:29 PM Zelensky urges US to name Russia a state terror sponsor as Jake Sullivan warns ... trends now
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged US President Joe Biden on Sunday to 'help the whole world by designating Russia as a state sponsor of terror - a move that the White House has previously declined to make.
Senior Biden administration officials have been in close contact with Kremlin counterparts 'in the last few days,' White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also said Sunday, after Russia's autocrat leader Vladimir Putin suggested he could use nuclear weapons in his months-long attack on Ukraine.
It comes amid international condemnation of Moscow's 'sham' referendums in parts of eastern Ukraine that are being occupied by Russia. Videos have appeared to show residents being forced to the polls at gunpoint to vote on whether to allow Russia to annex their home territories.
Zelensky told CBS News' Face The Nation that Moscow following through with the illegal annexation would make it 'impossible' to continue to try ending the invasion via diplomatic talks with Kyiv.
'I think it's a very dangerous signal from President Putin that tells us that Putin is not going to finish this war,' Zelensky said.
He also urged the United States to go a step further than implementing yet more sanctions on Russia by showing its 'leadership position' in designating the country as a state sponsor of terrorism.
'I understand there will be implications. These implications will make diplomatic negotiations impossible, however, they are terrorists, and we cannot let them do it out of fear. They will not surrender. We need to keep applying pressure,' Zelensky said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he believes Russian leader Vladimir Putin is 'not bluffing' about his nuclear threats
He added, 'The United States can help the whole world.'
Zelensky cited the recent atrocities uncovered in Kharkiv, a region recently liberated from Russia's control by the Ukrainian military.
'We started exhumations, we lifted 500 bodies. The whole families were tortured and killed. Their families were buried together. Adults, men and women, and little children with bullets in their heads. Some of their body parts were missing,' he said.
Adding of Russia, 'They are terrorists, we need to recognize them.'
