NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte made a stern threat on Wednesday, that countries such as Brazil, China, and India may be hit with very harsh consequences from secondary sanctions if they continue to hold economic relations with Russia.
Rutte spoke as he held an audience with US senators on Capitol Hill, a day after President Donald Trump announced plans to increase military aid to Ukraine and threatened 100% secondary tariffs on nations still buying Russian exports, in the event that peace talks do not happen within 50 days.
My advice to these three countries, specifically is, if you happen to be living now in Beijing, or in Delhi, or you're the president of Brazil, you may want to take a gander at this, because this could come as a pretty hard hit," Rutte said to reporters. He had previously met Trump and asserted his support for the newly introduced measures.
He continued to state, "So please call Vladimir Putin on the phone and let him know that he must get serious about peace negotiations, because otherwise this is going to slam back on Brazil, on India and on China in a huge manner."
Although the announcement was greeted warmly by many, concerns were expressed regarding the 50-day deadline announced by Trump. Republican Senator Thom Tillis recognized the significance of the move but expressed his apprehension.
"Putin would attempt to make use of the 50 days to win the war, or to be more favorably situated to negotiate a peace treaty after having killed and possibly gained more territory as a negotiation starting point," Tillis cautioned. He reinforced that any Russian territorial advances realized during this time should not be authorized in future peace negotiations. "So we should look at the situation in Ukraine today and say, regardless of what you do in the next 50 days, any of your gains are off the table," he continued.
Rutte reassured legislators that Europe is keen to provide financially for Ukraine and to make the nation well-equipped for any upcoming negotiations. He assured that, in the new arrangement with the US, Ukraine will get a major boost in military aid—ranging from air defense systems to missiles and ammunition, which will be financed by European states.
When queried if the support package would contain long-range missiles, Rutte said, "It is defensive and it is offensive. So there is all sorts of weapons, but we have not engaged in detail yesterday with the president. This is truly being worked through now by the Pentagon, by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, together with the Ukrainians."
