The warmth in India-Russia ties, despite mounting American pressure on India to discontinue buying oil from Russia, was on full display in China, as President Vladimir Putin and PM Narendra Modi walked hand in hand at the SCO summit and later travelled together in Putin’s luxury sedan, Aurus Senat, to the venue for their bilateral.
In their talks, Modi strongly backed ties with Russia saying the two countries have always stood shoulder-to-shoulder even in difficult circumstances and close cooperation between them is important for global peace, stability and prosperity. Putin said that bilateral tes, which are friendly and based on trust, will continue to grow.
In Tianjin, the PM spent more time with Putin than with any other leader. This included the carpool ride, a one-on-one chat for another 45 minutes in the car after reaching the meeting venue, followed by an hour-long bilateral meeting. According to official sources, Putin wanted to travel together with Modi from the SCO summit venue to the hotel where the meeting was to take place, and waited for around 10 minutes for Modi to join him. The leaders, who were also spotted in a huddle with President Xi Jinping at the SCO venue earlier, were said to have discussed various issues in the car, while the Russian and Indian delegations waited inside the hotel.In the bilateral, Modi did not specifically call for an immediate ceasefire but told Putin in his opening remarks that the “aspiration of entire humanity” was for all parties to work constructively and end the conflict. “A way must be found to end this conflict and establish lasting peace,” he said, recalling his past conversation with Putin on the issue and welcoming all recent efforts for establishing peace.
