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Amid a clear message to Western nations, President Vladimir Putin stated to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Russia remains committed to provide “continuous” supplies of oil to India. These remarks came during a summit where both heads of state met in Delhi and affirmed their bilateral ties were “resilient to foreign coercion.”

A Message Directed at the United States

This affirmation, made on Friday, seemed to be a pointed rebuke at Washington, that have repeatedly attempted to pressure New Delhi into scaling back its longstanding ties with Moscow. This comes comes after earlier Washington's moves, such as the introduction of trade penalties against Indian goods over its purchase of discounted Russian crude.

“Our nation is a reliable exporter of oil and gas and all required for the growth of India’s economy,” the Russian president stated. “Russia is prepared to keep securing the steady delivery of energy for the fast-expanding Indian economy.”

Modi, while not naming energy directly, supported the theme by stating that “secure fuel supplies has been a robust and vital pillar of the India-Russia cooperation.”

Defying US Interference

Before the meeting, during a television interview, Putin had criticized US interference over India's oil imports. The president questioned, “If the US can claim the privilege to buy our nuclear fuel, how can you deny India claim the same privilege?”

This trip represented his maiden trip to India after the start of the situation in Ukraine, and Moscow and Delhi made a visible attempt to display that the personal rapport between the men was undisturbed.

An Unusual Welcome

Taking an rare move, Modi personally greeted Putin right off the plane. Both leaders shared a warm hug as close allies before enjoying a one-on-one meal on Thursday evening.

The Indian prime minister referred to India's relationship with Russia as “a guiding star” and said it was “based on shared respect and strong faith.”

Strengthening Defence and Economic Partnerships

The bilateral summit resulted in multiple significant pacts across military and economic cooperation. A cornerstone agreement was the finalization of an strategic roadmap aimed at 2030, which sets a goal to double commerce to a hundred billion USD each year by the target year.

Additionally vowed to restructure their defence ties. While Russia continues to be India's largest supplier of defence equipment, this role has diminished lately as India has sought widen its supply base.

Their communique highlighted cooperation in the co-development of cutting-edge weapons platforms, though specific reference of purchases such as the Sukhoi Su-57 were not made.

Ultimately, Russia and India restated that in the “ongoing challenging, strained, and volatile global landscape, Russian-Indian ties continue to be durable to outside forces.”