NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has warned India, China, and Brazil that they may face serious economic punishments if they continue doing business with Russia. He made these strong comments after meeting US senators on Wednesday.

Rutte said the leaders of these countries should push Russian President Vladimir Putin to take peace talks seriously. He warned that if they keep buying Russian oil and gas, they could face 100 percent secondary sanctions.

"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 percent secondary sanctions," Rutte said.

He continued, "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 urged these world leaders to directly call Putin and ask him to commit to peace. "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 said.

Trump plans harsh tariffs and sanctions

The warning from NATO came just one day after US President Donald Trump made a similar threat. Trump announced more military support for Ukraine and said that new tariffs and sanctions could be placed on Russia and any countries helping it.

Trump said that if no peace deal is reached in 50 days, the US will take strong action. "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 are going to go on," he said.

He also explained that secondary tariffs could be used without needing Congress’s approval. "We can do secondary. We’re probably talking about 100 percent or something like that. We can do secondary tariffs without the Senate, without the House, but what they’re crafting also could be very good," Trump said earlier.

According to Reuters, 85 out of 100 US senators support a new law that would let Trump place tariffs of up to 500 percent on countries that support Russia.

India among top buyers of Russian oil

Reports show that India, China, and Turkey are some of the biggest buyers of Russian crude oil. If Trump’s plan goes ahead, these countries—especially India—could face serious economic problems. The move could also increase global energy prices, which are already unstable.

Responding to Trump’s threats, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, "Russia is ready to negotiate with US President Donald Trump, but the ultimatums are unacceptable and will not bring any results."

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