India, Aug. 20 -- Russia has a "very special mechanism" to get around any punitive measures imposed by the US administration to curb oil supplies to India and bilateral energy trade is unlikely to be hit by sanctions and tariffs unveiled by the US and the European Union (EU), senior Russian officials said on Wednesday.

Russia remains a "partner of choice" for India in defence, and hostilities between India and Pakistan in May served as a "very successful battle test" for Russian weaponry such as the S-400 air defence system, charge d'affaires Roman Babushkin told a media briefing. He also confirmed that President Vladimir Putin will travel to India later this year for an annual summit though dates for the visit are yet to be finalised. ...