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During a defiant signal to the United States, Leader Vladimir Putin has told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Russia stands ready to provide “unbroken” deliveries of energy resources to India. These remarks came as the two leaders met in Delhi and affirmed their partnership were “resistant to outside influence.”

A Signal Aimed at the West

Putin's comments, made on Friday, appeared to be targeted at western countries, that have repeatedly attempted to urge New Delhi into reducing its longstanding relations with Moscow. This comes comes after recent US actions, such as the imposition of trade penalties targeting New Delhi over its buying of discounted Russian crude.

“Moscow remains a dependable supplier of energy resources and all required for the development of India’s industry,” he remarked. “Russia is prepared to keep guaranteeing the steady supply of fuel for the booming Indian economy.”

The Indian leader, while not mentioning oil specifically, supported the sentiment by saying that “secure fuel supplies has been a key and vital pillar of the Indo-Russian cooperation.”

Questioning Washington's Stance

Before the meeting, via a television interview, Putin had questioned American pressure over India's oil imports. Putin stated, “Should America is entitled to buy our uranium, how can you deny India claim the same privilege?”

This trip marked his maiden journey to India since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, and the two nations engaged in a clear effort to demonstrate that the friendship between the men persisted strongly.

A Warm Greeting

Taking an rare step, Prime Minister Modi met Putin upon his arrival. Both leaders exchanged a hearty embrace like longtime companions before enjoying a closed-door supper on Thursday evening.

The Indian prime minister referred to India's alliance with Russia as “a guiding star” and said it was “based on reciprocal esteem and deep trust.”

Expanding Bilateral Cooperation

The bilateral summit yielded multiple key agreements across defence and economic cooperation. One significant result was the completion of an economic cooperation programme aimed at 2030, which targets to double mutual trade to $100bn each year by the 2030 deadline.

Additionally pledged to reshape their military partnership. Even as Russia continues to be India's largest source of arms, the volume has diminished in recent years as India has sought broaden its procurement.

The official release highlighted cooperation in the joint production of cutting-edge weapons platforms, even if specific reference of deals for the Su-57 fighter jet were omitted.

Overall, Russia and India affirmed that during the “ongoing challenging, difficult, and uncertain global landscape, their relationship remain resilient to outside forces.”