Nato chief says Brazil, China and India could be slammed by sanctions over Russia ties

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Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte speaking to a reporter as he arrives to hold a press conference with US Senators in Washington, on July 15.

PHOTO: AFP

WASHINGTON - Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte warned on July 15 that countries such as Brazil, China and India could be hit very hard by secondary sanctions if they continued to do business with Russia.

Mr Rutte made the comment while meeting with senators in the US Congress the day after President Donald Trump

announced new weapons for Ukraine

“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,” Mr Rutte told reporters, who met with Mr Trump on July 14 and agreed the new steps.

“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,” Mr Rutte added.

Republican US Senator Thom Tillis praised Mr Trump for announcing the steps, but said the 50-day delay “worries” him.

He said he was concerned that “Putin would try to use the 50 days to win the war, or to be better positioned to negotiate