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Amid a unambiguous statement to the West, President Vladimir Putin stated to PM Narendra Modi that Russia stands ready to guarantee “continuous” deliveries of crude oil to India. This declaration came when Putin and Modi met in Delhi and asserted their bilateral ties were “resistant to external pressure.”

A Signal For the Western Countries

The statement, delivered Friday, seemed to be a pointed rebuke at the United States and its allies, that have tried to compel New Delhi into scaling back its longstanding ties with Moscow. The context comes after earlier Washington's moves, including additional import duties targeting New Delhi over its buying of Moscow's energy exports.

“Our nation is a dependable supplier of oil and gas and all needed for the advancement of India’s industry,” Putin stated. “Russia is prepared to keep guaranteeing the uninterrupted supply of resources for the fast-expanding Indian economy.”

Prime Minister Modi, though he did not mentioning oil specifically, reinforced the focus by saying that “a stable energy base has been a key and vital pillar of the India-Russia cooperation.”

Questioning US Interference

Before the talks, in a television interview, Putin had criticized American pressure on India's energy purchases. The president questioned, “Should America can claim the privilege to buy our nuclear fuel, why shouldn’t India claim the equivalent access?”

This trip was his first journey to India following the start of the conflict in Ukraine, and Moscow and Delhi engaged in a deliberate show to display that the personal rapport between the heads of state was undisturbed.

A Personal Welcome

In a unusual gesture, Prime Minister Modi personally greeted Putin right off the plane. They embraced warmly akin to old friends before having a private dinner the night before the summit.

The Indian prime minister later described India's partnership with Russia as “a beacon” and noted it was “based on mutual respect and deep trust.”

Reaffirming Strategic Partnerships

The bilateral summit yielded multiple important deals in the fields of defence and financial collaboration. One significant result was the signing of an economic cooperation programme that runs to 2030, which sets a goal to increase twofold mutual trade to a hundred billion USD annually by the end of the decade.

The leaders also agreed to restructure their military partnership. While Russia continues to be India's largest exporter of defence equipment, its share has diminished lately as India aims to broaden its sources.

Their communique stressed plans for the collaborative manufacturing of sophisticated weapons platforms, even if explicit details of deals for the Su-57 fighter jet were not made.

Overall, Moscow and Delhi affirmed that during the “ongoing challenging, tense, and uncertain geopolitical situation, the Indo-Russian partnership continue to be durable to external pressure.”