MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

NATO Chief warns of “consequences” for countries trading with Russia

Rutte wants these countries to pressure Moscow into discussing peace in Ukraine

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has issued a stern warning to India, China, and Brazil, stating they will face “consequences” if they continue significant trade with Russia, particularly in energy. This warning follows an announcement by US President Donald Trump, who threatened to impose 100% secondary tariffs on purchasers of Russian exports if a peace agreement for Ukraine is not reached within 50 days.

Rutte urged these BRICS nations to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin into serious peace talks, highlighting that a failure to do so could “hit them very hard” economically. India and China have substantially increased their oil imports from Russia since 2022, with India becoming the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in May, purchasing an estimated US$4.9 billion worth.

“My encouragement to these three countries, particularly, is, if you live now in Beijing, or in Delhi, or you are the President of Brazil, you might want to take a look into this, because this might hit you very hard,” Rutte said.

“So I urge you to make a phone call to Vladimir Putin and convey to him that he needs to get serious about peace talks, because if not, the consequences will have a massive impact on Brazil, India, and China,” the former Dutch Prime Minister added.

This move echoes sentiments from US Senator Lindsey Graham, who is reportedly working on an “economic bunker buster” sanctions bill targeting these three countries, which has Trump's backing. The US is also in trade negotiations with India to avoid reciprocal tariffs by an August 1 deadline set by Trump.

The proposed secondary tariffs are designed to indirectly pressure Russia by making it economically punitive for other countries to trade with them. Some US lawmakers are even pushing for more severe bipartisan legislation that could impose 500% tariffs on goods imported from countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas, and other exports. This marks a significant shift in US policy, targeting entire countries rather than just specific entities.