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During a defiant statement to Western nations, President Vladimir Putin has told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Russia stands ready to provide “unbroken” deliveries of crude oil to India. These remarks came when Putin and Modi met in Delhi and affirmed their relationship were “resistant to foreign coercion.”

A Signal Directed at the Western Countries

The statement, issued after the annual summit, seemed to be a direct challenge at Washington, that have repeatedly attempted to urge New Delhi into reducing its historical ties with Moscow. The context comes after earlier US actions, such as additional import duties targeting New Delhi because of its purchase of Moscow's energy exports.

“Our nation is a dependable source of energy resources and all required for the growth of India’s energy sector,” the Russian president said. “Moscow stands willing to persist in ensuring the uninterrupted flow of resources for the fast-expanding Indian economy.”

Prime Minister Modi, though he did not mentioning oil explicitly, echoed the sentiment by saying that “secure fuel supplies has been a strong and vital foundation of the India-Russia alliance.”

Questioning American Pressure

Before the summit, during a media interview, Putin had questioned Washington's stance over India's oil imports. The president questioned, “When Washington can claim the privilege to buy our nuclear fuel, then why can't India have the equivalent access?”

Putin's arrival marked his first visit to India following the onset of the war in Ukraine, and Moscow and Delhi made a deliberate attempt to demonstrate that the friendship between the heads of state was undisturbed.

A Personal Greeting

In a unusual step, Modi personally greeted Putin upon his arrival. The two embraced warmly as close allies before having a one-on-one meal the night before the summit.

Modi in his statement called India's relationship with Russia as “a guiding star” and noted it was “built on shared respect and profound confidence.”

Expanding Defence and Economic Partnerships

The bilateral summit produced multiple important deals regarding defence and trade relations. A major outcome was the completion of an economic cooperation programme that runs to 2030, which sets a goal to increase twofold mutual trade to $100bn annually by the end of the decade.

Furthermore pledged to reshape their defence ties. Although Russia remains India's largest exporter of weapons, the volume has declined lately as India works to broaden its supply base.

Their communique stressed an agreement on the co-development of cutting-edge defence platforms, though specific details of systems like the Sukhoi Su-57 were left out.

Ultimately, Russia and India reiterated that in the “ongoing challenging, tense, and volatile international environment, Russian-Indian ties remain resilient to outside forces.”