In what could be considered a strong message to the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were seen travelling in the same car on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in China's Tianjin. Putin had waited for 10 minutes for PM Modi to join him before boarding the car.
The photo of the two leaders travelling in the same car was shared by PM Modi on 'X', who said conversations with Putin "are always insightful". "After the proceedings at the SCO Summit venue, President Putin and I travelled together to the venue of our bilateral meeting," said PM Modi.
Days after their photo went viral, Putin has now revealed that the two leaders discussed the Russian leader's visit to Alaska, where he met US President Donald Trump to discuss ways to end the conflict in Ukraine. "This is no secret, I told him (Modi) what we talked about in Alaska," Putin told reporters during a press conference in China.
PM Modi, Putin's bilateral meeting
PM Modi and Putin on Monday held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Tianjin, days after the US imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India for buying Russian crude oil. During the meeting, PM Modi told Putin that India and Russia stood "shoulder-to-shoulder" even in the most difficult times.
PM Modi also said that India welcomes all the recent efforts towards establishing peace in Ukraine, adding it is humanity's call to find a way to end hostilities as soon as possible.
"We've been having regular discussions on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. We welcome all the recent efforts towards establishing peace," he had said. "We hope that all parties shall proceed ahead constructively. A way must be found to end this conflict and establish lasting peace. This is the aspiration of the entire humanity."
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