Washington, DC: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Tuesday (local time) urged India, China, and Brazil to reevaluate their economic connections with Russia, warning of potential secondary sanctions, echoing US President Donald Trump's position of imposing economic sanctions on nations that maintain trade ties with Russia unless Moscow ends the conflict in Ukraine, according to Reuters.
Rutte underlined the seriousness of the situation during a press conference with US Senators Thom Tillis and Jeanne Shaheen, co-chairs of the Senate NATO Observer Group, noting Trump's declaration to boost military assistance to Ukraine, including air defence systems, missiles, and ammunition.
What occurred yesterday was crucial. To begin, the US will supply Ukraine with weapons, including missiles and ammunition, that the Europeans will pay for. And, according to Rutte, President Trump indicated that if Russia does not engage seriously in peace negotiations within 50 days, he would impose secondary sanctions on nations such as India, China, and Brazil.
My appeal to these three countries, in particular, is that if you live in Beijing or Delhi, or are the president of Brazil, you should pay attention to this since it may affect you severely, he said.
He also advised these countries to call Russian President Vladimir Putin to compel him to take the peace negotiations seriously, highlighting the prospective economic implications.
Please phone Vladimir Putin and tell him to get serious about peace talks, since if he does not, this will have a terrible impact on Brazil, India, and China. So I believe President Trump's message yesterday was very cleverly crafted and well-planned, the NATO commander said.
Earlier on Monday (local time), during his meeting with Rutte at the White House, Trump threatened to impose 100% secondary duties on Russia if an agreement on Ukraine is not reached within 50 days.
Trump also voiced his displeasure with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and promised to impose steep sanctions if no agreement is achieved in 50 days.
Meanwhile, shortly after Trump demanded 100 percent secondary tariffs on Moscow, Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal cautioned other nations, including India, of economic penalties if they continue to do business with Russia.
According to a joint statement from Graham and Blumenthal, China, India, Brazil, and other countries help Putin's war machinery by buying cheap Russian oil and gas, which they say is fueling Putin's efforts in the conflict with Russia. It also asked for tariffs as high as 500% to be applied on any nation that aids Russia.
Republican Senator Graham and Democratic Senator Blumenthal are leading 85 co-sponsors on a bipartisan measure, the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, which they presented in Congress earlier this year and calls for sanctions against Moscow.
Blumenthal requested that the bill, which he and Senator Graham introduced on April 1, be pushed forward because it would establish tougher penalties to discourage India, China, Brazil, and other countries that are still doing business with Moscow.
