PM Modi, Putin travel in same car for bilateral meet in Tianjin | Watch

PM Modi and Vladimir Putin.

It is often said images can have a profound impression. An image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin travelling in the same car to the venue of their (India-Russia) bilateral will certainly been keenly analysed by experts of foreign policy.

The image, not only a sign of continuance of good ties between India and Russia, but also highlights how both nations are willing to stand shoulder-to shoulder with current  geopolitics in a constant flux as the Trump administration unilaterally imposes strict tariff measures on many countries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The meeting comes moments after the declaration of a joint statement following the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) members in Tianjin, China. The meeting assumes significance as it comes at a time when India is under relentless pressure from the Trump administration to reduce its purchase of Russian crude oil.

This will be Narendra Modi and Vladimir Putin’s first in-person meeting after Trump's second US presidency. The two leaders last met on the margins of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, in October 2024.

Foreign Minister S Jaishankar met his Russian counterpart in Moscow on August 22. The two leaders discussed sustaining India-Russian energy cooperation through trade and investments, joint extraction of energy resources, including in the Russian Federation, in the Far East, and on the Arctic shelf, and the balance of bilateral trade, which is currently in Russia’s favour.