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Amid a defiant statement to Western nations, President Vladimir Putin has told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Russia is prepared to maintain “continuous” supplies of energy resources to India. The announcement came when Putin and Modi met in the Indian capital and declared their bilateral ties were “resistant to external pressure.”

A Signal Directed at the United States

Putin's comments, issued after the annual summit, appeared to be a direct challenge at Washington, which have sought to pressure New Delhi into scaling back its longstanding ties with Moscow. The context is in response to earlier US actions, including the imposition of trade penalties targeting New Delhi because of its acquisition of Moscow's energy exports.

“Our nation is a trustworthy supplier of energy resources and all required for the development of India’s energy sector,” the Russian president said. “We are ready to persist in securing the consistent delivery of fuel for the fast-expanding Indian economy.”

The Indian leader, without naming energy explicitly, echoed the sentiment by noting that “energy security has been a strong and crucial foundation of the India-Russia cooperation.”

Defying Washington's Stance

Prior to the talks, in a media interview, Putin had challenged American pressure on India's energy purchases. The president questioned, “If the US has the right to buy our uranium, then why can't India have the equivalent access?”

This trip marked his maiden journey to India after the onset of the situation in Ukraine, and Moscow and Delhi undertook a visible effort to display that the bond between the two leaders remained intact.

A Personal Welcome

Taking an unusual move, the Indian PM met Putin upon his arrival. They shared a warm hug akin to longtime companions before enjoying a private dinner on Thursday evening.

The Indian prime minister later described India's alliance with Russia as “a lodestar” and said it was “founded on shared respect and profound confidence.”

Reaffirming Strategic Cooperation

Friday's talks yielded a number of key agreements regarding defence and trade relations. A cornerstone agreement was the completion of an joint economic plan aimed at 2030, which aims to boost bilateral trade to $100bn each year by the target year.

Furthermore pledged to reshape their military partnership. Even as Russia remains India's largest exporter of weapons, the volume has reduced lately as India works to broaden its sources.

The official release emphasized plans for the co-development of sophisticated defence platforms, even if explicit mention of purchases such as the Sukhoi Su-57 were omitted.

Ultimately, Russia and India reiterated that amid the “present intricate, strained, and volatile geopolitical situation, Russian-Indian ties continue to be resilient to outside forces.”