“US using rhetoric to pressure Russia,” says expert on NATO sanctions warning

New Delhi:  Senior journalist and foreign affairs expert Waiel Awwad on Wednesday slammed NATO’s recent warning of sanctions against India, China, and Brazil over their trade ties with Russia, calling it part of the United States’ pressure rhetoric against Moscow. He said the US has failed to isolate Russia despite trying for over three years and is now resorting to such tactics.

“There’s a lot of rhetoric coming from the US and NATO forces because they know the war with Russia will continue. They will send more advanced weapons to hit Moscow. It seems the US President has given up,” Awwad said, reacting to NATO’s latest comments. “They wanted to isolate Russia, but they have failed. This is all rhetoric to put pressure on Russia,” he added.

Awwad’s comments come after NATO chief Mark Rutte, during a press conference in Washington alongside US Senators Thom Tillis and Jeanne Shaheen, urged India, China, and Brazil to reconsider their economic ties with Moscow or face “100 per cent secondary sanctions” if Russia does not commit to peace talks on Ukraine.

Rutte echoed the position taken by Trump, who earlier this week threatened severe tariffs on countries maintaining trade with Russia. “My encouragement to these three countries, particularly, is that if you live now in Beijing or in Delhi, or you are the President of Brazil, you might want to take a look at this because this might hit you very hard,” Rutte said.

He further appealed to these nations to pressure Russia into talks. “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 warned.

The statement follows Trump’s announcement on supplying Ukraine with additional military aid, including air defence systems, missiles, and ammunition, largely funded by European allies. Trump also gave Russia a 50-day deadline to enter serious peace negotiations or face full secondary sanctions.

Adding to the pressure, US Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal issued a warning that nations purchasing Russian oil and gas, including India, are ‘propping’ up ‘Putin’s war machine’. The two lawmakers are pushing for the swift passage of the “Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025”, which calls for imposing penalties and tariffs as high as 500 per cent on any country aiding Russia economically.