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In a unambiguous message to the United States, President Vladimir Putin has told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Russia remains committed to provide “continuous” supplies of crude oil to India. This declaration came as the two leaders met in the Indian capital and asserted their relationship were “resistant to external pressure.”

A Statement For the West

This affirmation, made on Friday, appeared to be a pointed rebuke at Washington, who have repeatedly attempted to pressure New Delhi into scaling back its close ties with Moscow. This comes follows earlier US actions, notably the introduction of import duties against Indian goods because of its acquisition of discounted Russian crude.

“Our nation is a dependable source of oil and gas and anything required for the growth of India’s energy sector,” Putin remarked. “Russia is prepared to persist in ensuring the uninterrupted delivery of fuel for the booming Indian economy.”

Prime Minister Modi, though he did not naming energy directly, supported the theme by noting that “energy security has been a robust and crucial foundation of the Indo-Russian alliance.”

Questioning US Interference

Before the talks, in a television interview, Putin had criticized Washington's stance over India's oil imports. Putin stated, “If the US has the right to buy our uranium, then why can't India have the identical right?”

The visit represented his first journey to India since the start of the war in Ukraine, and Moscow and Delhi made a deliberate attempt to display that the personal rapport between the heads of state remained intact.

A Personal Greeting

In a rare gesture, Prime Minister Modi welcomed directly Putin right off the plane. Both leaders embraced warmly akin to old friends before holding a closed-door supper together.

Modi in his statement called India's relationship with Russia as “a beacon” and noted it was “built on mutual respect and deep trust.”

Reaffirming Bilateral Cooperation

The meeting resulted in a number of important deals regarding military and trade relations. A cornerstone agreement was the finalization of an joint economic plan aimed at 2030, which sets a goal to boost commerce to $100bn annually by the end of the decade.

The leaders also vowed to reshape their defence ties. While Russia remains India's biggest exporter of defence equipment, this role has declined lately as India works to widen its procurement.

The official release emphasized cooperation in the collaborative manufacturing of cutting-edge military systems, though explicit details of systems like the Sukhoi Su-57 were omitted.

Overall, Moscow and Delhi restated that in the “current complex, strained, and uncertain geopolitical situation, their relationship remain resilient to external pressure.”