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During a unambiguous message to the West, President Vladimir Putin has told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Russia stands ready to provide “unbroken” supplies of energy resources to India. These remarks came as the two leaders met in Delhi and affirmed their relationship were “immune to external pressure.”

A Signal Aimed at the Western Countries

The statement, made on Friday, appeared to be targeted at western countries, that have repeatedly attempted to pressure New Delhi into scaling back its close relations with Moscow. This comes follows earlier American measures, including the introduction of import duties against Indian goods due to its buying of discounted Russian crude.

“Moscow remains a reliable source of oil and gas and all necessary for the growth of India’s economy,” Putin stated. “Moscow stands willing to continue guaranteeing the consistent flow of resources for the rapidly growing Indian economy.”

Modi, while not referencing crude directly, reinforced the sentiment by saying that “energy security has been a strong and vital cornerstone of the India-Russia cooperation.”

Challenging Washington's Stance

Before the talks, during a media interview, Putin had criticized American pressure on India's dealings with Russia. He argued, “Should America can claim the privilege to buy our uranium, why shouldn’t India have the same privilege?”

This trip represented his first visit to India after the onset of the war in Ukraine, and the two nations made a visible attempt to display that the personal rapport between the two leaders persisted strongly.

An Unusual Greeting

Taking an notable gesture, the Indian PM welcomed directly Putin as he disembarked. The two embraced warmly like longtime companions before enjoying a one-on-one meal together.

He in his statement called India's partnership with Russia as “a guiding star” and said it was “founded on mutual respect and deep trust.”

Reaffirming Bilateral Partnerships

The meeting yielded several significant pacts in the fields of military and economic cooperation. One significant result was the finalization of an economic cooperation programme aimed at 2030, which targets to increase twofold mutual trade to a hundred billion USD each year by the 2030 deadline.

Furthermore vowed to restructure their military partnership. While Russia remains India's biggest supplier of weapons, this role has diminished lately as India has sought broaden its supply base.

The joint statement emphasized an agreement on the co-development of sophisticated military systems, even if direct mention of deals for the Su-57 fighter jet were not made.

Overall, Moscow and Delhi affirmed that in the “ongoing challenging, strained, and volatile global landscape, Russian-Indian ties stay strong to foreign influence.”