Not for the ears of others: When Putin gave PM Modi a ride after SCO Summit

Following the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a rare private ride together in Putin's Aurus limousine on Monday. The two leaders' in-depth conversations have come to light as a result of the ride, which evolved into an hour-long tête-à-tête.

Reports state that Putin personally asked PM Modi to ride along in the car with him so they could continue their conversation en route to the hotel where their bilateral meeting was set to take place. Before the Indian leader showed up, the Russian president even waited for almost ten minutes.

According to sources who spoke to ANI, the leaders decided to stay in the limousine for almost fifty minutes to continue their conversation after arriving at the hotel rather than leaving right away. The one-on-one conversation lasted nearly an hour, according to later confirmation from Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

Additionally, PM Modi shared a photo of himself and Putin inside the limousine on social media, writing: "President Putin and I travelled together to the location of our bilateral meeting following the events at the SCO Summit venue. His conversations are always enlightening.

The unusually lengthy private conversation was deemed significant by Moscow observers, who also hinted that it might have touched on topics "not for the ears of others."

PM Modi reaffirmed India's position on the Ukraine conflict during their ensuing formal discussions, stressing that "humanity wants peace" and pleading with Putin to put an end to the war as soon as possible. The Russian leader, who is expected to attend the yearly summit in New Delhi in December, was also invited by Modi.

A rare show of unity among the three leaders was observed earlier in the day when PM Modi, Putin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping were spotted exchanging cordial words on the sidelines of the summit.