- Prime Minister Modi shared a car with President Putin on way to the opening ceremony of Nomad Games
- PM Modi posted a photo inside the vehicle, captioned en route with President Putin
- Pm Modi has shared rides with leaders from Israel, France, Jordan, and Ethiopia
Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a car with Russian President Vladimir Putin to the opening ceremony of the Nomad Games today, offering another glimpse of what has come to be dubbed as "car-plomacy". PM Modi shared an image from inside the vehicle on his Instagram handle. The accompanying caption read, "On the way to the World Nomad Games with President Putin".
The two leaders shared a ride in China's Tianjin last year in Putin's Aurus limousine while leaving the SCO summit.
PM Modi has shared similar informal rides with other world leaders -- including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, French President Emmanuel Macron in Mumbai, and leaders in Jordan and Ethiopia.
Read: "Move From Endless War To End Of War": PM Modi's Message To Putin On Ukraine
Last year, in a special gesture, Jordan's crown prince Al Hussein Bin Abdullah II had driven PM Modi to the Jordan Museum. Ethiopia's Nobel Peace Prize-winning Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had received PM Modi at the airport and drove him to his hotel.
The rides highlight the close rapport PM Modi shares with the leaders and add to the positive vibes of the visits.
Last year, after PM Modi had received Putin at the Delhi airport, the two leaders had travelled back in the same vehicle.
This time, Putin praised PM Modi for his "personal attention" to India-Russia relations as they met ahead of the SCO summit and were seen sharing a hug.
The Russian President will visit India next week to attend the BRICS summit. PM Modi extended a formal invitation for it today, saying, "We are eager to welcome you to India for the BRICS Summit in New Delhi this September". The visit, he added, will "further strengthen India-Russia relations."
"I'm very grateful to you for your personal attention to the Russia-India relationship," President Putin responded.
At their bilateral talks today on the sidelines of the SCO meet in Kyrgyzstan's Bishkek, PM Modi said India supports all peaceful efforts to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and will continue to do so.
"We have to move from a situation of 'endless war' to 'end of war'... It is humanity's wish that the end of this war happens soonest," PM Modi said, underscoring his 2022 message of this not being "an era of war".
