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During a clear statement to the United States, Leader Vladimir Putin has told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Russia is prepared to maintain “uninterrupted” shipments of energy resources to India. The announcement came during a summit where both heads of state met in New Delhi and affirmed their relationship were “resilient to foreign coercion.”

A Message For the West

Putin's comments, made on Friday, appeared to be targeted at western countries, who have tried to pressure New Delhi into reducing its close links with Moscow. This comes follows recent US actions, including the introduction of tariffs targeting New Delhi over its buying of Russian oil.

“Our nation is a dependable source of oil and gas and everything required for the development of India’s energy sector,” he said. “Russia is prepared to continue securing the consistent delivery of fuel for the booming Indian economy.”

Modi, without mentioning oil specifically, echoed the focus by stating that “energy security has been a robust and important foundation of the India-Russia alliance.”

Challenging US Interference

Before the summit, during a TV appearance, Putin had challenged US interference on India's dealings with Russia. The president questioned, “When Washington has the right to buy our uranium, how can you deny India enjoy the identical right?”

Putin's arrival marked his first trip to India after the start of the war in Ukraine, and both sides undertook a deliberate effort to display that the bond between the heads of state remained intact.

A Warm Greeting

In a unusual gesture, Prime Minister Modi personally greeted Putin upon his arrival. Both leaders embraced warmly like longtime companions before enjoying a private dinner the night before the summit.

He referred to India's partnership with Russia as “a lodestar” and added it was “founded on mutual respect and strong faith.”

Strengthening Defence and Economic Cooperation

The bilateral summit resulted in a number of significant pacts in the fields of military and trade relations. A cornerstone agreement was the signing of an joint economic plan extending until 2030, which sets a goal to increase twofold commerce to a hundred billion USD annually by the target year.

Furthermore vowed to recalibrate their defence ties. Although Russia continues to be India's biggest source of weapons, its share has diminished over the past decade as India works to widen its procurement.

The joint statement stressed cooperation in the co-development of cutting-edge defence platforms, though direct details of systems like the Su-57 fighter jet were left out.

In conclusion, both nations restated that during the “ongoing challenging, tense, and volatile geopolitical situation, the Indo-Russian partnership stay durable to outside forces.”