Washington, D.C. [US], July 16 (ANI): Echoing US President Donald Trump’s stance on imposing economic sanctions against countries maintaining trade ties with Russia if Moscow fails to end the conflict in Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Tuesday (local time) urged India, China, and Brazil to reconsider their economic relations with Russia, warning of potential secondary sanctions, Reuters reported.
At a press conference, Rutte, speaking alongside US Senators Thom Tillis and Jeanne Shaheen — co-chairs of the Senate NATO Observer Group — emphasized the urgency of the situation, noting Trump’s announcement on increasing military support for Ukraine, including air defense systems, missiles, and ammunition.
“What happened yesterday was important. First of all, the US will now supply Ukraine with weapons, not just air defense 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.
“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 further urged these countries to “make the phone call” to Russian President Vladimir Putin to press him to “get serious” about peace talks, highlighting 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 said.
Earlier on Monday (local time), Trump threatened to impose 100 percent “secondary tariffs” on Russia if a deal on Ukraine is not reached within 50 days, during his meeting with Rutte at the White House. Trump also expressed disappointment with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and warned of severe tariffs if there is no deal within the specified period.
Meanwhile, moments after Trump’s call for imposing 100 percent “secondary tariffs” on Moscow, Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal warned countries — including India — of economic sanctions if they continue doing business with Russia.
In a joint statement, Graham and Blumenthal charged that China, India, Brazil, and other nations “prop up Putin’s war machine” by purchasing “cheap Russian oil and gas,” which they claimed is fueling Putin’s effort in the conflict with Ukraine. The statement also called for imposing tariffs as high as 500 percent on any country that helps Russia.
Republican Senator Graham and Democratic Senator Blumenthal are leading 85 co-sponsors on a bipartisan bill, the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, introduced earlier this year, which calls for implementing further sanctions on Moscow.
Blumenthal urged swift passage of the bill, which he and Senator Graham introduced on April 1, noting it would impose “tougher penalties to deter India, China, Brazil” and other countries still maintaining business ties with Moscow. (ANI)
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