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Amid a clear statement to the United States, Leader Vladimir Putin has told PM Narendra Modi that Russia stands ready to maintain “uninterrupted” supplies of crude oil to India. These remarks came when Putin and Modi met in Delhi and affirmed their relationship were “resistant to external pressure.”

A Signal Directed at the United States

This affirmation, issued after the annual summit, seemed to be a pointed rebuke at Washington, which have sought to urge New Delhi into scaling back its historical links with Moscow. The context comes after recent American measures, such as the imposition of import duties against Indian goods over its buying of discounted Russian crude.

“Our nation is a reliable source of fuel and all required for the growth of India’s energy sector,” Putin stated. “Moscow stands willing to keep ensuring the steady delivery of resources for the rapidly growing Indian economy.”

Modi, though he did not mentioning oil explicitly, echoed the sentiment by saying that “secure fuel supplies has been a strong and crucial pillar of the Indo-Russian alliance.”

Defying US Interference

In the lead-up to the meeting, in a television interview, Putin had questioned American pressure regarding India's energy purchases. The president questioned, “If the US has the right to buy our nuclear fuel, how can you deny India have the identical right?”

This trip marked his initial visit to India following the onset of the situation in Ukraine, and both sides undertook a clear effort to project that the personal rapport between the two leaders persisted strongly.

A Personal Reception

Taking an unusual move, the Indian PM personally greeted Putin upon his arrival. Both leaders embraced warmly like longtime companions before enjoying a closed-door supper together.

The Indian prime minister in his statement called India's relationship with Russia as “a lodestar” and said it was “based on mutual respect and profound confidence.”

Expanding Bilateral Ties

The bilateral summit resulted in a number of key agreements across defence and financial collaboration. A cornerstone agreement was the finalization of an joint economic plan extending until 2030, which aims to double commerce to one hundred billion dollars each year by the 2030 deadline.

The leaders also agreed to recalibrate their defence ties. Although Russia continues to be India's primary supplier of defence equipment, the volume has diminished over the past decade as India works to broaden its procurement.

The joint statement highlighted an agreement on the co-development of cutting-edge weapons platforms, even if direct mention of purchases such as the fifth-generation aircraft were left out.

Ultimately, both nations restated that during the “current complex, strained, and unpredictable global landscape, their relationship continue to be strong to external pressure.”