ANNAPOLIS, Md. (7News) — Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson (D) on Monday called on Gov. Larry Hogan (R) to renounce the Sister State status between Maryland and St. Petersburg of the Leningrad region of Russia, saying Russia’s government should not be legitimized during the Ukraine conflict.
On Monday, through Twitter, Ferguson said he was introducing a resolution in the state legislature the same day asking Hogan and Secretary of State John Wobensmith to formally renounce the partnership.
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“Our issue is not with the people of Russia, but Maryland must not legitimize its government. Diplomacy and soft power are vital, and relations should be resumed when Russian aggression ceases. Until then, we must send a clear message that we stand with Ukraine,” Ferguson tweeted Monday morning.
But two hours after Ferguson's tweet, a communications staffer with the Hogan administration tweeted Hogan himself had already started the proceedings over the weekend - calling for the cooperative relationship to be terminated.
"Over the weekend, Governor Hogan directed the Secretary of State to terminate Maryland's 1993 sister-state relationship with the Leningrad Region of Russia," Kata Hall Burke, deputy communications director, tweeted.
Hall posted the termination letter, dated February 28.