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In a defiant signal to the West, Leader Vladimir Putin has told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Russia remains committed to provide “unbroken” shipments of oil to India. These remarks came during a summit where both heads of state met in New Delhi and affirmed their relationship were “immune to outside influence.”

A Message Directed at the Western Countries

The statement, delivered Friday, appeared to be targeted at the United States and its allies, that have tried to urge New Delhi into curtailing its longstanding relations with Moscow. The backdrop comes after recent Washington's moves, notably the introduction of trade penalties on India over its buying of Moscow's energy exports.

“Moscow remains a dependable source of oil and gas and everything required for the growth of India’s industry,” he remarked. “Russia is prepared to continue ensuring the consistent supply of resources for the booming Indian economy.”

Modi, though he did not mentioning oil explicitly, supported the theme by noting that “a stable energy base has been a strong and crucial cornerstone of the India-Russia alliance.”

Questioning American Pressure

Before the summit, via a media interview, Putin had questioned American pressure regarding India's energy purchases. Putin stated, “When Washington is entitled to buy our uranium, how can you deny India have the equivalent access?”

This trip represented his first trip to India after the start of the conflict in Ukraine, and both sides engaged in a visible attempt to display that the friendship between the men remained intact.

A Warm Greeting

Employing an notable step, Prime Minister Modi welcomed directly Putin upon his arrival. The two embraced warmly akin to longtime companions before enjoying a closed-door supper together.

The Indian prime minister referred to India's alliance with Russia as “a lodestar” and noted it was “based on shared respect and deep trust.”

Expanding Defence and Economic Partnerships

The meeting resulted in several important deals across defence and economic cooperation. A cornerstone agreement was the completion of an joint economic plan aimed at 2030, which aims to double bilateral trade to a hundred billion USD per year by the 2030 deadline.

Additionally pledged to reshape their military partnership. Although Russia continues to be India's primary supplier of weapons, this role has declined over the past decade as India aims to broaden its procurement.

Their communique emphasized plans for the collaborative manufacturing of cutting-edge defence platforms, even if direct details of systems like the Sukhoi Su-57 were not made.

Ultimately, both nations affirmed that during the “ongoing challenging, tense, and unpredictable geopolitical situation, the Indo-Russian partnership continue to be strong to outside forces.”