Image Source: Agencies

Sept 2, 2025: President Vladimir Putin gave Prime Minister Narendra Modi a ride on Monday in his Russian-made Aurus limousine. They talked for an hour before joining their teams for bilateral talks on the sidelines of the SCO summit here. Before getting into the car, the Russian president waited about ten minutes for PM Modi to join him. They spent another 45 minutes in the car to continue their conversation after a 15-minute drive to the location of their meeting. “The two leaders continued their one-to-one dialogue on the way to the hotel, where they were to be joined by members of their teams. But when they got to the hotel, they didn't get out of the limousine of the Russian president, so they kept talking for another 45 minutes,” VestiFM, a national radio station in Russia, said. Later, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the two leaders had a tete-a-tete in the car for about an hour.

He was reluctant to disrupt the crucial conversation. But the ‘home walls’ of the car also played a role,” Peskov told a pool TV reporter covering Putin’s visit to China.

They were at residence. That’s the first thing. Second, there is simply no time to pause while walking to various locations and participating in other activities when an important discussion is taking place. They continued the conversation because they were at ease there. However, the bilateral agenda is truly intense,” Peskov stated. Modi took to social media to share a photo of himself and the Russian President inside the limousine.

“After the proceedings at the SCO Summit venue, President Putin and I travelled together to the venue of our bilateral meeting. Conversations with him are always insightful,” Modi said.

Experts in Moscow, on the condition of anonymity, said Putin’s presidential limousine is well protected from eavesdropping, and that may be the reason the two leaders were discussing highly sensitive bilateral issues.

They claim that Modi and Putin had probably their most significant private conversation to date, during which they likely discussed topics "not for the ears of others."