New Delhi/Washington: Will Russian crude cost India dear?
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte has warned China, India and Brazil of severe economic penalties if they continue to do business with Russia. US president has also set a deadline of 50 days for Russia to agree to peace, failing which tariffs would rise.
Rutte met US senators and then told the media that leaders in Beijing, Delhi, and Braslia will have to press Russian president Vladimir Putin to take peace negotiations seriously.
“If you are the president of China, the Prime Minister of India, or the president of Brazil, and you continue to trade with Russia and buy their oil and gas, then you know: if the man in Moscow doesn’t take the peace negotiations seriously, I will impose 100 per cent secondary sanctions,” Rutte warned.
“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. 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.
Rutte’s statement comes a day after Trump’s announcement of further military support to Ukraine and his threat of sweeping tariffs on Russia and its trading partners. According to the White House, Trump’s plan includes sending advanced weapons, such as Patriot missile systems, which Kyiv considers vital to counter Russian air attacks.
Trump also warned of ‘biting’ 100 per cent tariffs on Russia and signalled plans to slap secondary sanctions on countries that continue to buy Russian oil if no peace deal with Ukraine is reached within 50 days.
“If we don’t have a deal at the end of 50 days, it’s going to be too bad. The tariffs are going to go on and other sanctions go on,” Trump said. He added that secondary tariffs could be enforced without needing fresh approval from Congress.
India, China and Turkey are among the top buyers of Russian crude. India has been defending its decision to purchase oil and gas from Russia, saying that it is for the country’s interest. It now remains to be seen what impact Trump’s proposed sanctions have on the Indian economy.
Russia, on the other hand, has said that it is ready to negotiate if the US stops issuing threats. “Russia is ready to negotiate with US president Donald Trump, but the ultimatums are unacceptable and will not bring any results,” Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said,
