Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow is ready to provide “uninterrupted shipments” of fuel to India, as Delhi faces pressure from the US to stop buying Russian oil.
Putin, speaking alongside Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi, questioned earlier why India should be punished for buying oil when the US itself buys nuclear fuel from Moscow.
President Donald Trump has imposed 50% tariffs on most Indian products, arguing that Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian oil helped fund the war in Ukraine – an accusation India denies.
Putin’s visit comes as the US holds a series of talks with Russia and Ukraine in an attempt to broker a peace deal to end the war.
On Thursday, Putin told India Today that Russia was working on a “peaceful solution” to ending the war – warning that Ukraine must withdraw from the Donbas or Russia would seize it.
“Either we liberate these territories by force, or Ukrainian troops will leave these territories,” he said.
Modi repeated India’s stance that it was not neutral on the war in Ukraine and stood on “the side of peace”, welcoming efforts to find a “lasting” solution to end the war.
He highlighted that increasing the “connectivity” of Russia and India was a “major priority” for India.
In a joint statement released after their meeting, the leaders said their partnership was being “reoriented toward joint research and development, as well as the production of advanced defence platforms”.
Putin added that he and Modi were cooperating on foreign policy, with their coalition of Brics countries promoting a “more just” and “multi-polar” world.
Brics is an informal alliance of several major developing countries – including India, Russia, China, Brazil and South Africa – which formed in 2006, broadly to challenge the political and economic power of North America and Western European nations.
BBC