Polish parliament recognizes Russia as sponsor of terrorism, says Kremlin responsible for ex-president's death.
The Sejm, the Polish parliament's lower house, on Dec. 14 recognized Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, Gazeta Wyborcza, a Polish newspaper, reported.
Previously the Sejm had failed to recognize Russia as a sponsor of terrorism because the opposition did not support an amendment by the ruling Law and Justice party saying that Russia was “directly responsible” for the 2010 plane crash in Russia's Smolensk Oblast that killed then Polish President Lech Kaczyński and 95 people on board.
However, on Dec. 14 the Sejm adopted both the resolution and the amendment on the plane crash.
In 2011 the Polish government released a report attributing the crash to a pilot error and adding that Russian air traffic control passed incorrect information to the crew. In 2015 a different report backed by the Law and Justice party claimed that the crash was caused by explosions aboard the plane.
The Polish parliament's resolution condemns Russia for its war crimes committed in Ukraine and for its “terrorist war."
The report comes amid Ukraine’s repeated calls on its allies to label Russia as a “state sponsor” of terrorism.
The Polish parliament's upper house, called the Senate, also recognized Russia as a terrorist regime in October.
In November, the European Parliament declared that Russia is committing war crimes and uses “means of terrorism,” recognizing the country as a “state sponsor of terrorism.”
