'Call Putin': NATO Chief Warns India, China Of 100% Secondary Sanctions Over Russia Ties

Last Updated:July 16, 2025, 07:27 IST

Rutte made the comment while meeting with senators in the US Congress the day after President Donald Trump announced new weapons for Ukraine

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte looks on during a meeting with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on July 14, 2025.. (AFP)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte issued a stark warning on Wednesday, saying that countries like Brazil, China, and India could face severe secondary sanctions if they continue economic ties with Russia.

Rutte made the remarks during meetings with US senators, a day after President Donald Trump unveiled a new weapons package for Ukraine and threatened “biting" secondary tariffs of 100% on buyers of Russian exports unless a peace agreement is reached within 50 days.

“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 told reporters. He had met with Trump on Monday and endorsed the new measures.

“So 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," he added.

Republican U.S. Senator Thom Tillis voiced support for Trump’s move but expressed unease about the 50-day grace period.

He warned that “Putin would try to use the 50 days to win the war, or to be better positioned to negotiate a peace agreement after having murdered and potentially collected more ground as a basis for negotiation."

“So we should look at the current state of Ukraine today and say, no matter what you do over the next 50 days, any of your gains are off the table," Tillis said.

Rutte assured that Europe would mobilize funding to place Ukraine in the strongest possible position for negotiations.

He said that under the new agreement with Trump, the U.S. would now “massively" deliver weapons to Ukraine, “not just air defense, also missiles, also ammunition paid for by the Europeans."

When asked whether long-range missiles were being considered, Rutte said: “It is both defensive and offensive. So there’s all kinds of weapons, but we have not discussed in detail yesterday with the president. This is really being worked through now by the Pentagon, by the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, together with the Ukrainians."

Abhro Banerjee

Covering day-to-day national and international news for the last nine years across print and digital. Associated with News18.com as Chief Sub-Editor since 2022, covering innumerable big and small events, includ...Read More

Covering day-to-day national and international news for the last nine years across print and digital. Associated with News18.com as Chief Sub-Editor since 2022, covering innumerable big and small events, includ...

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