Invasion of Ukraine prompts Md. leaders to renounce, end Sister State status with Russia

by Glynis Kazanjian

Mon, February 28th 2022, 3:35 PM UTC

ANNAPOLIS, MD - AUGUST 05: Maryland Governor Larry Hogan holds a news conference on the state's Covid-19 situation, at the Maryland State Capitol on August 5, 2021 in Annapolis, Maryland. With the Delta variant of COVID-19 on the rise, Governor Hogan announced that state employees working in congregate living facilities must show proof of vaccination by September 1. He also called on the private operators of 227 nursing homes in Maryland to take similar steps. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

ANNAPOLIS, MD - MARCH 01: Advocates of stricter gun control laws rally at the Maryland State House on March 1, 2013 in Annapolis, Maryland. Earlier this week, the Maryland Senate passed a gun control bill, which if passed in the House of Delegates, would require a license to purchase a handgun, ban the sale of assault-style rifles and limit magazine size, among other provisions. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

The Government House in Maryland is illuminating in blue and yellow to show support for Ukrainians. (Gov. Larry Hogan)

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ANNAPOLIS, MD - AUGUST 05: Maryland Governor Larry Hogan holds a news conference on the state's Covid-19 situation, at the Maryland State Capitol on August 5, 2021 in Annapolis, Maryland. With the Delta variant of COVID-19 on the rise, Governor Hogan announced that state employees working in congregate living facilities must show proof of vaccination by September 1. He also called on the private operators of 227 nursing homes in Maryland to take similar steps. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

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.

“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.

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Hall posted the termination letter, dated February 28.

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