Why is Joe Biden against ‘terrorist’ label for Russia’s Wagner Group of mercenaries?

The Joe Biden-led United States government and the US Congress are at odds over designating Wagner Group – a private Russian militia organisation fighting for Moscow in Ukraine – a terrorist organisation. As per The Hill report, a section of US lawmakers are demanding labelling the Wagner Group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), however, the Biden administration is opposing the idea. Earlier in January, the US designated Wagner as a transnational criminal organisation, which allows the Biden government to seize and block the group’s assets. Who is this Russian mercenary group? Why does the US Congress want the FTO label for Wagner and why is the Biden government against it? Let’s take a closer look. Wagner Group Founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, the Wagner Group first helped Russia annex the Ukrainian territory of Crimea in 2014, as per BBC. Since Russia waged a war against Ukraine last February, the group has made headlines for its role in the combat. “Wagner almost certainly now commands 50,000 fighters in Ukraine and has become a key component of the Ukraine campaign,” says the UK Ministry of Defence.

The mercenary group was accused of committing rape, torture and massacre of civilians in Ukraine’s Bucha in March 2022.

Wagner fighters have also been leading the Russian troops in their efforts to capture the city of Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine. The Hill reported that Wagner Group is also present in countries including Sudan, Libya, the Central African Republic, Mozambique, Mali, Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Chad. The mercenaries of the group are deployed as an additional force in countries that have weak militaries. [caption id=“attachment_12289002” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Wagner Group is owned by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close Putin ally. AP File Photo[/caption] Wagner has been accused of human rights abuses and of adopting brutal methods during the Ukraine war. The United Nations and the French government have accused Wagner mercenaries of raping and robbing civilians in the Central African Republic, as per BBC. ALSO READ: Ukraine, Russia locked in brutal battle in Bakhmut, high casualties reported What is FTO? FTO is a designation accorded by America to non-US groups it considers to be involved in terrorist activities. As per the US State Department, after an organisation gets the FTO label “it is unlawful for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide material support or resources to” it. It also says that members of an FTO-designated group, “if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances, removable from the United States”. The funds of an FTO have to be frozen and reported to the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Department of the Treasury, reported Indian Express. US lawmakers call for FTO tag for Wagner Group A group of Democratic and Republican senators has been at the forefront of seeking an FTO tag for Russia’s Wagner Group. These seven senators, including Democrat Ben Cardin and Republican Roger Wicker, have sponsored legislation titled Holding Accountable Russian Mercenaries (HARM) Act to press the US State Department to label Wagner as a terrorist group. The backers of the legislation say the FTO label would allow the US to “target and disrupt Wagner’s activities, serve as a strong deterrent against people or governments doing business with the group and open new pathways for legal action,” reported The Hill. [caption id=“attachment_12289022” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] As per reports, Wagner Group first helped Russia annex Crimea in 2014. Reuters (Representational Image)[/caption] According to Politico, “such a designation would substantially hamper Wagner’s operations by putting foreign individuals, companies and countries on notice that doing business with the organisation means risking prosecution in the United States.”

This demand for an FTO label has bared the fissures between Congress and the Biden government.

“We’ve seen that again and again in terms of this support for the Ukrainians and this war, where Congress has been out ahead of the White House,” Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told The Hill. “It’s been true since Russia invaded Ukraine. I remember in 2014 supporting lethal weapons for Ukraine, and the White House refused to support that. I don’t see this as unusual. I hope the administration and the State Department comes on board,” Shaheen, who is also a sponsor of the HARM Act, added. Earlier in March, testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, US Attorney General Merrick Garland had said he would not “object” to designating Wagner as an FTO. Why is the US government against it? A congressional aide told The Hill that the Biden administration is against the FTO label for the Wagner as it fears that it could harm their efforts with African nations to end their reliance on the mercenary group. “[The State Department] is concerned that if suddenly the FTO designation lands on Wagner, that those governments, where there’s various officials that deal with them [Wagner], that they would all, immediately be blocked from travel to the United States and have their assets seized for coming into contact with the FTO. So that’s the nature of their concern,” the aide said. Meanwhile, as per a Politico report, tensions have started rising between the US and Ukraine over “war aims, and potential flashpoints loom on how, and when, the conflict will end”. While the US has assured Ukraine of its support for “as long as it takes”, fissures have started erupting between Washington and Kyiv on certain issues, the report added. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.