By: Express Web DeskNew Delhi | Updated: September 26, 2025 04:45 PM IST 2 min readNATO Secretary General Mark Rutte attends a press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. (Reuters)New Delhi on Friday rejected remarks by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who claimed that US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on India for purchasing Russian oil were forcing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to press Russian President Vladimir Putin to clarify his Ukraine strategy.“NATO chief’s statement is factually incorrect and entirely baseless. We expect the leadership of an important institution like NATO to exercise greater responsibility and accuracy in public statements,” MEA said in a statement.Speaking to CNN on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday, Rutte said Trump’s tariffs on Indian goods were having a “big impact” on Moscow.“This (tariff) immediately impacts Russia because that means Delhi is now on the phone with Vladimir Putin in Moscow, and Narendra Modi is asking, ‘I support you, but could you explain me your strategy because I have now been hit by these 50 per cent tariffs by the United States,’” Rutte said.Trump last month imposed a 25 per cent reciprocal tariff on Indian goods and an additional 25 per cent penalty for India’s continued purchase of Russian oil. The US President, who has levied reciprocal tariffs on several countries since returning to power in January, has accused New Delhi of fueling Moscow’s war on Ukraine through its oil trade.Speaking at UN assembly on Wednesday, Trump also accused NATO countries of hypocrisy for buying oil and gas from Moscow calling it “funding the war against themselves.”His proposed solution is punitive tariffs: “If Russia does not end the war, the United States will impose very strict tariffs which would end the war very quickly, but the Europeans have to adopt them as well.”Story continues below this adModi and Putin last spoke on September 17 — the PM’s 75th birthday– when Modi reiterated India’s “full support for the peaceful resolution” of the Ukraine conflict. Earlier on September 1, the two leaders also held a one-hour conversation while travelling together to their bilateral meeting after the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, China.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© IE Online Media Services Pvt LtdTags:NATO