President Putin waited outside the venue for nearly 10 minutes for Prime Minister Modi to arrive, expressing his desire to travel together
Digital Desk: In a remarkable gesture of camaraderie, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a ride in his official AURUS limousine to travel to the venue of their bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit on Monday.
As per reports, on the Russian national radio station VestiFM stated that the two leaders had only a little more than half an hour of their one-on-one chat during the ride, and furthermore, after they reached the hotel, they still spent almost 50 minutes in the limo in a serious conversation.
These were later confirmed by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, who added that president Putin and Prime Minister Modi had a one-on-one (tete-a-tete) meeting in the car over the course of an hour. The site of the bilateral meeting was distant enough to the main SCO summit venue in Tianjin.
President Putin never attempted to enter the venue, waiting in the vicinity almost 10 minutes before Prime Minister Modi arrived, and offered his willingness to travel with him. Once Modi arrived, the two leaders, got into the Russian Presidential AURUS limo and drove off together to their meeting.
Throughout the drive, the two leaders also discussed in depth various burning world and bilateral issues. The two opted to stay in the car and carry on their conversation even after arriving at the hotel where their respective delegations awaited them, before they could actually commence their formal discussions.
Prime Minister Modi later acknowledged the shared ride on social media, posting on X:
“After the proceedings at the SCO Summit venue, President Putin and I travelled together to the venue of our bilateral meeting.”
The gesture underscored the close personal rapport between the two leaders and marked a unique diplomatic moment during the SCO Summit.
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