Brazil criticizes NATO’s Russia sanctions warnings
(MENAFN) Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira strongly criticized NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s recent remarks threatening secondary sanctions against BRICS countries that continue trading with Russia. Rutte had warned that Brazil, India, and China could face “consequences” for maintaining business ties with Russia, particularly in oil and gas sectors, and urged their leaders to pressure President Vladimir Putin to seriously engage in peace talks over Ukraine.
As a founding member of BRICS—a bloc that includes Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, the UAE, and Indonesia—Brazil dismissed these threats. Speaking to CNN Brazil, Vieira called Rutte’s comments “totally absurd,” emphasizing that NATO is a military alliance, not a trade organization, and Brazil is not a member.
“Brazil handles commercial relations either bilaterally or through the WTO framework,” Vieira explained, labeling Rutte’s statements as baseless and irrelevant.
He also pointed out that the EU, whose many members are part of NATO, remains a major buyer of Russian energy, still importing significant volumes of Russian LNG in 2024 despite efforts to reduce dependency.
Rutte’s warnings come amid similar threats from US President Donald Trump, who recently announced new military aid to Ukraine and threatened to impose 100% tariffs on countries trading with Russia unless a peace deal is reached within 50 days.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov condemned NATO and EU leaders for pressuring Trump into a hardline stance. Moscow says it remains open to talks with Kyiv but awaits confirmation on when negotiations will resume. So far, two rounds of talks in Istanbul this year have led only to prisoner exchange agreements, with no major breakthroughs.
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