NATO chief warns Brazil, China and India could be slammed by US sanctions

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Tuesday warned countries such as Brazil, China and India that they could be hit by secondary US sanctions if they maintain trade with Russia.

Rutte is in Washington, DC where he met with US President Donald Trump, who on Monday threatened to impose 100% secondary tariffs on Russia if a deal on ending the war in Ukraine is not reached within 50 days.

First, Rutte told reporters, “The US will now supply massively, Ukraine with weapons out of the US, not just air defense, also missiles, also ammunition paid for by the Europeans.

Secondly, he added, “President Trump said, basically, if Russia is not serious about peace talks, within 50 days, he will slam secondary sanctions on countries like India, China and Brazil."

Speaking alongside US Sens. Thom Tillis and Jeanne Shaheen, Rutte called on the leaders of those nations to use their influence on Russian President Vladimir Putin for peace talks, as “this might hit you very hard."

"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," Rutte added.

Rutte said Europe will find money to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs to be in the best possible position during these peace talks as soon as they start.

Asked if long-range missiles for Ukraine were under discussion, 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."

Shaheen said she was "very pleased" to hear that sending weapons to Ukraine will continue.

About a US bill to sanction Russia, Shaheen said: "We need to go forward with this Graham-Blumenthal sanctions bill. It's got 85 bipartisan co-sponsors. It sends a very strong message we need to be prepared if, in fact, we're going to give Russia 50 days."

Sens. Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal in April 1 introduced a bill that would impose a 500% tariff on imported goods from countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other products.

Shaheen also stressed that she does not support giving 50 days to Russia "because I think every day that Russia is able to continue this war, means dead Ukrainians."

Tillis, for his part, thanked Trump for taking the steps, but said the 50-day delay "worries me."

He said 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 added.