NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday threatened to impose 100% secondary sanctions on countries continuing to oil and gas trade with Russia. Supported by US President Donald Trump’s shifted stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Rutte stated: “If you are the President of China, or the Prime Minister of India, or the President of Brazil, and you are still trading with the Russians and buying their oil and gas I will impose secondary sanctions at 100%.”
Addressing a press conference, Rutte emphasised the urgency of the situation, noting Trump's announcement on increasing military support for Ukraine, including air defence systems, missiles, and ammunition.
US will now supply Ukraine with weapons, says NATO
"What happened yesterday was important. First of all, the US will now supply Ukraine with weapons, not just air defence but also missiles and ammunition, paid for by the Europeans. And secondly, President Trump said basically if Russia is not serious about peace talks within 50 days, he will impose secondary sanctions on countries like India, China and Brazil," Rutte stated.
NATO urges BRICS to encourage Putin to engage in peace talks
Mark Rutte urged India and othr BRIC countries to encourage Vladimir Putin to engage seriously in peace negotiations with Ukraine, emphasising that failure to do so would result in severe economic repercussions.
"My encouragement to these three countries, particularly, is that if you live now in Beijing or in Delhi, or you are the president of Brazil, you might want to take a look at this because this might hit you very hard," he added.
He also urged these countries to "make the phone call" to Russian President Putin to make him "get serious" about the peace talks, reflecting the potential economic repercussions.
"Please make the phone call to Vladimir Putin and tell him that he has to get serious about peace talks because otherwise this will slam back on Brazil, on India and on China in a massive way. So I think it was a very smartly, wisely designed announcement yesterday by President Trump," the NATO Chief stated.
Earlier on Monday (local time), Trump threatened to impose 100 per cent "secondary tariffs" on Russia if a deal on Ukraine is not reached within 50 days, during his meeting with Rutte in the White House.
Will this threat imapct India, China, Brazil?
The threat of major sanctions will not have any impact for countries like India, which has increased its imports of Russian oil since the invasion began.
What is India’s stand on Ukraine war?
For long time, India has maintained a calibrated stance amid the Russia-Ukraine war, balancing its longstanding strategic partnership with Russia against growing international pressure.
PM Modi has expressed grief over civilian casualties in Ukraine, and described the conflict as a departure from an era of peace.
India’s approach and stand reflect its deep defence dependence on Russia and pragmatic economic interests, including substantial imports of discounted Russian crude.
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