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Amid a clear statement to Western nations, Leader Vladimir Putin has told PM Narendra Modi that Russia is prepared to maintain “continuous” shipments of crude oil to India. The announcement came when Putin and Modi met in Delhi and asserted their bilateral ties were “resilient to foreign coercion.”

A Signal For the West

The statement, issued after the annual summit, was widely seen to be targeted at Washington, which have sought to pressure New Delhi into curtailing its historical ties with Moscow. This comes follows recent American measures, notably additional trade penalties against Indian goods because of its buying of Russian oil.

“Our nation is a trustworthy source of oil and gas and all required for the development of India’s energy sector,” he stated. “We are ready to persist in guaranteeing the steady supply of energy for the fast-expanding Indian economy.”

Prime Minister Modi, while not naming energy directly, supported the focus by saying that “secure fuel supplies has been a key and crucial cornerstone of the Indo-Russian cooperation.”

Challenging Washington's Stance

Prior to the summit, via a media interview, Putin had questioned American pressure on India's dealings with Russia. The president questioned, “When Washington is entitled to buy our uranium, then why can't India claim the equivalent access?”

This trip represented his maiden trip to India since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, and the two nations undertook a deliberate attempt to demonstrate that the personal rapport between the men remained intact.

An Unusual Greeting

Taking an notable move, Modi met Putin as he disembarked. They exchanged a hearty embrace akin to close allies before holding a closed-door supper the night before the summit.

He later described India's alliance with Russia as “a guiding star” and said it was “based on shared respect and deep trust.”

Expanding Bilateral Cooperation

The bilateral summit resulted in multiple key agreements regarding defence and economic cooperation. A cornerstone agreement was the signing of an economic cooperation programme aimed at 2030, which sets a goal to boost bilateral trade to a hundred billion USD annually by the end of the decade.

Additionally vowed to recalibrate their military partnership. Even as Russia is still India's biggest supplier of defence equipment, this role has diminished over the past decade as India works to widen its sources.

The official release emphasized cooperation in the joint production of sophisticated weapons platforms, even if explicit details of purchases such as the Su-57 fighter jet were not made.

In conclusion, Russia and India reiterated that during the “present intricate, tense, and unpredictable geopolitical situation, the Indo-Russian partnership stay strong to outside forces.”