🔗 Share this article

Amid a unambiguous signal to the United States, Leader Vladimir Putin has told PM Narendra Modi that Russia remains committed to provide “uninterrupted” deliveries of energy resources to India. The announcement came during a summit where both heads of state met in New Delhi and affirmed their bilateral ties were “resistant to foreign coercion.”

A Statement Aimed at the Western Countries

Putin's comments, delivered Friday, was widely seen to be targeted at western countries, that have sought to urge New Delhi into scaling back its longstanding relations with Moscow. The backdrop is in response to earlier US actions, notably additional trade penalties on India because of its acquisition of discounted Russian crude.

“Russia is a reliable source of fuel and everything necessary for the development of India’s industry,” the Russian president stated. “Moscow stands willing to continue securing the steady supply of fuel for the fast-expanding Indian economy.”

Modi, though he did not referencing crude directly, reinforced the theme by noting that “energy security has been a key and important cornerstone of the bilateral cooperation.”

Questioning American Pressure

Before the meeting, via a media interview, Putin had criticized US interference regarding India's oil imports. Putin stated, “When Washington can claim the privilege to buy our nuclear fuel, then why can't India claim the equivalent access?”

The visit represented his initial visit to India after the onset of the war in Ukraine, and the two nations undertook a clear effort to demonstrate that the personal rapport between the two leaders remained intact.

An Unusual Welcome

Taking an rare step, Modi met Putin right off the plane. Both leaders embraced warmly akin to old friends before having a private dinner on Thursday evening.

The Indian prime minister in his statement called India's alliance with Russia as “a guiding star” and said it was “built on shared respect and profound confidence.”

Strengthening Defence and Economic Partnerships

The meeting yielded multiple significant pacts across military and economic cooperation. One significant result was the completion of an strategic roadmap aimed at 2030, which aims to increase twofold mutual trade to $100bn annually by the 2030 deadline.

Furthermore vowed to recalibrate their defence ties. Even as Russia remains India's biggest supplier of arms, the volume has declined over the past decade as India works to broaden its procurement.

Their communique emphasized cooperation in the collaborative manufacturing of cutting-edge weapons platforms, although direct mention of systems like the Sukhoi Su-57 were left out.

Ultimately, Moscow and Delhi reiterated that amid the “ongoing challenging, strained, and unpredictable international environment, the Indo-Russian partnership continue to be resilient to outside forces.”