NATO’s Double Standards Exposed: Sanctions Loom For India, Brazil, China Even As NATO Members Continue Buying Russian Oil

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Secretary General Mark Rutte’s statement, calling out BRICS nations’ purchase of Russian oil, is being widely discussed. In a meeting with US senators in Washington, Rutte said that if India, China and Brazil continue to do business with Russia, a 100 per cent secondary tariff could be imposed on them. A day before Rutte, US President Donald Trump also threatened to impose a 100 per cent tariff on countries buying oil from Russia.

Experts not only consider this threat by Rutte to be inappropriate, but they also describe it as being outside of NATO's jurisdiction. NATO is a military organisation that wants to impose its economic policies for its own interests, disregarding the sovereignty of other countries. Since Rutte's statement came just a day after Trump's, it is also being seen as an attempt to build pressure on the Global South, that is, developing countries. Rutte's statement is also morally wrong because NATO member countries themselves are buying crude oil and gas from Russia.

After Russia attacked Ukraine in 2022, Western countries have imposed several sanctions on the Kremlin. The interesting point is that the European Union's dependence on Russia's natural gas is quite high, which is why it has not imposed a ban on Russian gas.

What did NATO chief Mark Rutte say

In a conversation with the media after the meeting with US senators, Mark Rutte said, "If you are the President of China, the Prime Minister of India or the President of Brazil and you continue to trade with Russia, buy their oil and gas and the person sitting in Moscow does not take peace talks seriously, then I will impose 100 per cent secondary sanctions." Secondary sanctions refer to economic penalties on countries that trade with a sanctioned country.

NATO, which Rutte heads, currently has 32 members. These include the USA and Canada, in addition to 30 European countries. Out of the 27 member countries of the European Union (EU), 23 are members of NATO, and are buying gas and oil from Russia. Last year, the European Union purchased 18 per cent of its natural gas from Russia. Despite this, Rutte is warning of imposing sanctions on other countries.

EU purchased 51 per cent of Russia's LNG

Although the EU has announced a complete halt to gas purchases from Russia by 2027, for now, it remains the largest buyer. According to the European think tank Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), the European Union purchased 51 per cent of all LNG exported by Russia from December 2022 to June 2025. Similarly, the European Union is also the largest buyer of Russia's pipeline gas, having purchased 37 per cent of Russia's total exports.

This situation is not for a single month but has been continuing consistently. Last month, the European Union was the fourth-largest buyer of Russia's fossil fuels. In June 2025, China had the largest share in Russia's fuel exports at 38 per cent. India was Russia's second-largest buyer, purchasing 4.5 billion euros worth of fuel, of which 80 per cent was crude oil. Turkey was the third-largest buyer with a 16 per cent share, followed by the European Union, which purchased 10 per cent. On behalf of the EU, approximately half of the purchases (728 million euros) were of LNG.

Within the European Union, Hungary, Belgium, France, Slovakia and the Netherlands are the largest buyers of fossil fuels from Russia. All five countries are also members of NATO. In June 2025, these five countries purchased approximately 1.2 billion euros worth of fuel from Russia. 72 per cent of this amount was gas.

India is the world's third-largest buyer

India is the world's third-largest oil importer and consumer. In the first half of this year, India's crude oil imports from Russia have increased. According to the news agency Reuters, during January to June 2025, India imported an average of 1.75 million barrels of oil per day from Russia. This is one per cent more than the first half of last year.

In the first half of the year, India imported about 5.2 million barrels of crude oil per day, which is 4.3 per cent more than last year. In June, imports from Russia increased by 17.4 per cent compared to May, reaching 2 million barrels per day. This has led to a decrease in imports from Middle Eastern/OPEC countries in return.

Global commodity tracking firm Kpler estimates that India imported an average of 2.08 million barrels of crude oil per day from Russia in June 2025. This is the highest since July 2024.

CREA released a report in March 2025, in which it stated that India has purchased crude oil worth approximately Rs 1.5 lakh crore from Russia since the Russian attack on Ukraine. According to the think tank, from the beginning of the war until February 2025, Russia exported 835 billion euros worth of fossil fuels. Out of this, China imported the most at 235 billion euros, followed by India with 205.84 billion euros. India's imports include 112.5 billion euros of crude oil and 13.25 billion euros of coal.

Crude imports from America increased by 51 per cent

According to S&P Global Commodity Insights, India imported an average of 271,000 barrels of crude oil per day from the US during January to June 2025. This is 51 per cent more compared to the 180,000 barrels in the first half of 2024. However, Russia remained the largest supplier to India. In January-June 2025, Russia supplied 1.65 million barrels of crude oil per day. In the first half of last year, this average was 1.66 million barrels per day.

According to Abhishek Rajan, South Asia Oil Research Lead at S&P Global Commodity Insights, "The supply of crude oil from the US to India has increased, but it is limited to a few select refining companies. Therefore, there is scope for other refining companies to increase imports from the US."

India's purchases: 35 per cent of supply from Russia

During the January to June period, Russia supplied 35 per cent of India's total oil purchases. It was followed by Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The United States was in fifth place, up from sixth place last year. After the Russian attack on Ukraine in 2022, Western countries imposed sanctions on Russia, which is why Russia is selling its oil at a discount.

Almost half of the crude oil India has bought from Russia has been bought by two private companies, Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy. Both have long-term deals in place. India's state-owned companies tend to do more deals in the spot market.

According to a Reuters report, Indian companies feel that any step by Trump will not disrupt the oil supply. It is certainly possible that the discount being offered on Russian crude oil may no longer be available.

India Should Not Stop Buying From Russia Under Pressure

According to Ajay Srivastava, founder of the think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), India should continue buying fuel from Russia, completely dismissing pressure from Western countries. Buying discounted crude oil from Russia has helped India maintain economic stability and control inflation amidst global turmoil. Moving away from this policy will not stop the threats from the US; it will start making new threats. Trump has been warning of increasing tariffs for various reasons.

Trump has already warned of imposing an additional 10 per cent tariff on imports from BRICS countries. He has announced the imposition of a 50 per cent tariff on Brazil, one reason for which is to pressure it to remove certain content on the social media platform X. According to Srivastava, "India also gives such directions to various social media platforms from time to time. Like Brazil, Trump can target India as well."

“Therefore, it makes no sense to stop buying oil from Russia under pressure from the US. Even a trade deal with Washington is no guarantee, as Trump can change his goalposts later. Due to his behavior, long-term agreements have become uncertain.”

Srivastava believes that India should continue buying oil from Russia as long as it helps in reducing energy costs. As for the Ukraine-Russia war, India has remained neutral so far. It should not change its stance because of American threats. A clear message should be sent from India's side that it is ready to work with the US as far as the interests of both countries are concerned. However, India will not change its strategic decisions merely because of tariff threats.

(This article was translated for The Daily Jagran by Akansha Pandey.)