New Delhi: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte issued a blunt warning to India over its continued oil imports from Russia. In a press conference held with US Senators in Washington, Rutte said that Brazil, China and India could face 100% secondary sanctions from the West if they continued to do so.
“If you are the President of China, the PM 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% secondary sanctions.” Rutte said.
“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.”
About NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte's Warning
Rutte’s warning comes in the wake of recent pressure by President Trump on Russia to end the Ukraine war. Speaking to the press at the White House, Trump expressed his disappointment with President Putin and stated that 100% secondary tariffs would kick in if a deal on Ukraine was not worked out soon.
“I’m disappointed in President Putin because I thought we would have had a deal 2 months ago, but it doesn't seem to have got there. So based on that we’re going to be doing secondary tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days. It will be at a 100%.”
While India has not yet officially responded to the remarks by the Nato chief or President Trump, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has it clear on many occasions that India reserves the right to buy oil wherever and from whomever it chooses to do so.
Speaking at the GLOBSEC 2022 Bratislava Forum, the External Affairs Minister not only denied the accusation that India was funding the ongoing Ukraine war by buying Russian oil, but also pointed out that Europe was itself doing so through its purchases of Russian gas.
"I don't want to sound argumentative but tell me is buying Russian gas not funding the war? It’s only Indian money and oil coming into India which funds the war but not the gas coming into Europe? Let’s be a little even-handed here.”
The Data Reveal Hypocrisy
Data collected by commodities intelligence firm Kpler found that in the first 15 days of 2025, the European Union's 27 countries imported 837,300 metric tons of liquefied natural gas from Russia. This is up from the 760,100 tons brought in during the same period last year.
According to the firm, the end of a gas transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine has ensured that Europe is facing a shortfall of natural gas reserves and is therefore bulk buying to maintain its storage levels. The other issue is that Europe continues to buy Russian oil via India. In December 2022, the EU and G7 countries introduced a price cap and an embargo on the imports of Russian crude oil in a bid to cripple Kremlin’s revenue. What was left out of this was refined oil.
According to energy experts, Russian crude oil has made its way to India where it is refined and sold to the EU. “Capitalising on the refining loophole, India has now become the biggest exporter of oil products to the EU. In the first three quarters of 2024, exports to the EU from the Jamnagar, Vadinar (in Gujarat) and new Mangalore refinery - which are increasingly reliant on Russian crude - saw a 58 per cent year-onyear rise further,” the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said its report in 2024. These ongoing purchases suggest that while Europe has no intention of giving up its purchases of Russian oil and gas it wants others to do so.
