New Delhi: The Ministry of Exterior Affairs (MEA) strongly responded to latest remarks by NATO Secretary-Common Mark Rutte, who warned of “100 per cent secondary sanctions” on nations like India, China, and Brazil in the event that they preserve commerce relations with Russia. The MEA emphasised that safeguarding India’s power safety stays a prime precedence and cautioned in opposition to “double requirements” in worldwide expectations.
“We now have seen stories on the topic and are carefully following the developments,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal mentioned throughout a weekly press briefing in New Delhi on Thursday. “Let me reiterate that securing the power wants of our folks is understandably an overriding precedence for us.”
#WATCH | Delhi | On Nato chief Mark Rutte’s remark that nations shopping for Russian oil might face secondary sanctions, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, “We now have seen stories on the topic and are carefully following the developments. Let me reiterate that securing the power… pic.twitter.com/SdhmWRQYLL
— ANI (@ANI) July 17, 2025
With out naming NATO or the US immediately, Jaiswal made India’s place clear. “On this endeavour, we’re guided by what is obtainable within the markets and likewise by prevailing international circumstances. We’d notably warning in opposition to any double requirements on the matter,” he mentioned.
Jaiswal’s feedback got here after NATO chief Mark Rutte, talking at a press convention in Washington alongside US Senators Thom Tillis and Jeanne Shaheen, referred to as on India, China, and Brazil to sever their financial ties with Moscow. He warned that failure to take action might end in sweeping secondary sanctions if Russia refuses to enter peace negotiations.
“My encouragement to those three nations, notably, is that in case you stay now in Beijing or Delhi, or you’re the President of Brazil, you may want to try this as a result of this would possibly hit you very laborious,” Rutte mentioned.
He urged the three nations to make use of their affect with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Please make the telephone name to Vladimir Putin and inform him that he has to get critical about peace talks, as a result of in any other case this can slam again on Brazil, on India, and China in an enormous approach,” he warned.
Rutte’s remarks echoed the latest place taken by former US President Donald Trump, who earlier this week threatened steep tariffs on nations persevering with commerce with Russia. Trump additionally introduced new navy support packages for Ukraine, funded largely by European allies, together with air defence methods, ammunition, and missiles.
In a dramatic ultimatum, Trump gave Russia a 50-day deadline to enter what he termed “critical peace negotiations,” threatening full-scale secondary sanctions if the Kremlin fails to behave. His assertion adopted days of hypothesis over a promised “shock” on the Russia-Ukraine entrance, after beforehand calling Putin’s stance “bullshit.”
India’s agency stance alerts rising resistance to Western strain over its Russia coverage, reinforcing New Delhi’s insistence on strategic autonomy and nationwide interest-driven diplomacy amid the shifting geopolitical panorama.