PM Modi and President Putin had travelled in the same vehicle to the destination of their bilateral meeting after the proceedings at the SCO Summit venue in Tianjin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, while divulging details for the first time about his conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their car ride in Tianjin after of the SCO Summit, said that he spoke with the Indian PM about the Alaska Summit with US President Donald Trump.
PM Modi and President Putin had travelled in the same vehicle to the destination of their bilateral meeting after the proceedings at the SCO Summit venue in Tianjin.
“After the proceedings at the SCO Summit venue, President Putin and I travelled together to the venue of our bilateral meeting. Conversations with him are always insightful,” PM Modi had said in a post on X.
The mini road-trip for Putin and Modi to reach the venue for their bilateral meeting lasted only about 15 minutes, but the two leaders then sat inside the car for a further 45 minutes to continue their discussions.
“The two leaders continued their one-to-one dialogue on the way to the hotel where they were to be joined by members of their teams. However, on reaching the hotel they did not deboard the Russian president’s limousine and continued their conversation for 50 minutes,” Russian national radio station VestiFM reported.
Later, during the bilateral meeting, the two leaders reaffirmed the depth of their partnership and exchanged views on global issues like the Ukraine war. Reiterating the long-standing friendship between New Delhi and Moscow, Prime Minister Modi said, “India and Russia have always stood shoulder to shoulder even in the most difficult situations. Our close cooperation is important not only for the people of both countries but also for global peace, stability and prosperity.”
The talks came at a time when India has been facing heat, and tariffs, from the US over their buying of Russian oil. Besides a 25 per cent tariff, US President Donald Trump has also imposed a 25 per cent penalty over India buying oil from Russia.
