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During a clear message to the West, President Vladimir Putin informed PM Narendra Modi that Russia remains committed to provide “unbroken” shipments of energy resources to India. The announcement came during a summit where both heads of state met in Delhi and declared their bilateral ties were “immune to foreign coercion.”

A Message Aimed at the Western Countries

Putin's comments, made on Friday, was widely seen to be targeted at the United States and its allies, that have sought to pressure New Delhi into reducing its historical relations with Moscow. The context follows earlier Washington's moves, including additional tariffs on India due to its acquisition of Moscow's energy exports.

“Our nation is a dependable source of oil and gas and anything needed for the advancement of India’s industry,” he said. “We are ready to keep ensuring the consistent supply of energy for the rapidly growing Indian economy.”

Modi, though he did not mentioning oil specifically, echoed the sentiment by saying that “energy security has been a strong and important foundation of the bilateral cooperation.”

Defying American Pressure

In the lead-up to the talks, via a media interview, Putin had criticized American pressure over India's energy purchases. He argued, “When Washington can claim the privilege to buy our nuclear fuel, why shouldn’t India have the equivalent access?”

Putin's arrival represented his maiden trip to India after the beginning of the war in Ukraine, and Moscow and Delhi engaged in a visible effort to demonstrate that the friendship between the men persisted strongly.

A Warm Greeting

Employing an notable gesture, Modi welcomed directly Putin upon his arrival. Both leaders shared a warm hug akin to close allies before holding a one-on-one meal the night before the summit.

Modi later described India's alliance with Russia as “a lodestar” and said it was “built on shared respect and profound confidence.”

Expanding Defence and Economic Ties

Friday's talks produced a number of key agreements across military and financial collaboration. A cornerstone agreement was the completion of an strategic roadmap aimed at 2030, which targets to double bilateral trade to a hundred billion USD per year by the end of the decade.

Additionally agreed to recalibrate their military partnership. While Russia continues to be India's biggest source of defence equipment, its share has diminished in recent years as India has sought widen its sources.

Their communique highlighted an agreement on the co-development of cutting-edge weapons platforms, even if direct mention of deals for the fifth-generation aircraft were left out.

In conclusion, both nations affirmed that during the “present intricate, tense, and unpredictable international environment, Russian-Indian ties continue to be resilient to outside forces.”