In a meeting with Indian national security adviser Ajit Doval, Russian security official Sergei Shoigu assured him that Moscow was dedicated to a "comprehensive strengthening of the joint strategic partnership" between the two nations.
The meeting took place the day after US President Donald Trump pledged to increase tariffs on India further due to its purchases of Russian oil; excerpts of the conversation were broadcast on Zvezda, the Russian state television channel.
According to reports, Doval's tour would also include a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The visit, which was first scheduled for two weeks ago, is regarded as a crucial prelude to the yearly summit of Indian and Russian leaders. Later this year, India will host this summit, and President Putin is anticipated to visit New Delhi to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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Furthermore, reports suggest that Doval's travel is not a direct reaction to recent pressure from the US, such as additional tariffs or threats of sanctions pertaining to India's imports of Russian crude oil.
In a similar incident, India's ambassador to Russia, Vinay Kumar, met with Russian Deputy Defense Minister Colonel General Alexander Fomin in Moscow.
In a statement, the Russian Ministry of Defense affirmed the two countries' long-standing defense cooperation.
According to the ministry, "the two sides discussed key issues of bilateral defense cooperation" and "confirmed their focus on further strengthening specialized cooperation within the framework of a particularly privileged strategic partnership."
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Doval is anticipated to discuss a number of important topics during his talks, such as the procurement of crude oil in the future, the delivery of unfinished defense equipment, and the modernization of India's Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jets. The remaining two S-400 missile defense systems will be delivered by 2026, according to guarantees already given by Russia.
Doval is in Moscow for the first time since Operation Sindoor. But he had already met with Shoigu's deputy and Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Aleksandr Venediktov, during the NSA-level summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Beijing in June.