India Rejects Western Pressure Over Russia Ties as Strategic Partnership Deepens

India has resisted sustained pressure from Western countries to downgrade its relationship with Russia, with New Delhi continuing to view Moscow as a strategically important partner, former Indian Foreign Secretary Rajiv Sikri said in comments reported by RT. According to Sikri, Western governments sought to discourage India from purchasing Russian crude oil and the S-400 air defense missile system, but those efforts ultimately failed. He also argued that the attendance of Indian, Russian and Chinese delegations at the funeral of Iran's former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei demonstrated that "it is the West that finds itself isolated on this issue." According to Sikri, many countries across the Global South have expressed sympathy for Iran.