Lawmakers in Latvia have designated Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, citing Moscow’s ongoing unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, its military activities in Syria, and several high-profile cases of poisoning of Kremlin-critics.
The Latvian parliament adopted the resolution on August 11 after 67 lawmakers voted for it. Sixteen lawmakers abstained.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova posted on Telegram that the Latvian resolution was "xenophobic."
Ukraine's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, posted on Twitter that he was grateful for the resolution.
"Ukraine encourages other states and organizations to follow suit," Kuleba wrote.
The resolution denounced Russia's "violence against civilians in pursuit of political aims" and condemned Moscow's use of cluster munitions "to sow fear and indiscriminately kill civilians."
The parliament called on other "like-minded countries" to join the move and urged the European Union to stop issuing visas to citizens of Russia and Belarus, noting that Russia's invasion of Ukraine was carried out "with the support and involvement of the Belarusian regime."