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Amid a unambiguous message to Western nations, Leader Vladimir Putin has told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Russia is prepared to provide “uninterrupted” deliveries of crude oil to India. These remarks came during a summit where both heads of state met in Delhi and affirmed their relationship were “immune to outside influence.”

A Message Directed at the West

This affirmation, made on Friday, appeared to be a pointed rebuke at Washington, who have repeatedly attempted to urge New Delhi into curtailing its close relations with Moscow. The context comes after previous Washington's moves, including additional trade penalties targeting New Delhi over its buying of Russian oil.

“Moscow remains a reliable exporter of fuel and anything necessary for the development of India’s energy sector,” the Russian president remarked. “Russia is prepared to persist in guaranteeing the uninterrupted supply of energy for the rapidly growing Indian economy.”

Modi, though he did not mentioning oil specifically, supported the sentiment by stating that “secure fuel supplies has been a robust and vital pillar of the India-Russia cooperation.”

Questioning American Pressure

Before the summit, via a media interview, Putin had questioned Washington's stance over India's oil imports. The president questioned, “Should America is entitled to buy our nuclear fuel, then why can't India enjoy the identical right?”

The visit was his initial visit to India since the beginning of the situation in Ukraine, and Moscow and Delhi made a visible effort to display that the bond between the men persisted strongly.

A Personal Welcome

Taking an unusual move, Prime Minister Modi met Putin right off the plane. They embraced warmly like longtime companions before enjoying a one-on-one meal the night before the summit.

He later described India's relationship with Russia as “a beacon” and added it was “built on mutual respect and strong faith.”

Expanding Strategic Ties

Friday's talks produced a number of key agreements regarding military and economic cooperation. A major outcome was the finalization of an joint economic plan that runs to 2030, which sets a goal to boost commerce to one hundred billion dollars annually by the 2030 deadline.

Additionally agreed to recalibrate their strategic cooperation. Even as Russia continues to be India's primary exporter of arms, its share has declined in recent years as India has sought diversify its supply base.

Their communique highlighted an agreement on the co-development of advanced military systems, although specific reference of purchases such as the Sukhoi Su-57 were omitted.

Overall, Moscow and Delhi reiterated that in the “ongoing challenging, tense, and uncertain global landscape, their relationship continue to be resilient to outside forces.”