At the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin spent nearly an hour in a private conversation while riding in Putin’s Aurus limousine.

The discussion preceded their formal bilateral meetings and was kept confidential at the time.

Putin later disclosed that he updated Modi on his recent discussions with US President Donald Trump in Alaska. The leaders continued their exchange en route to the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Tianjin, extending their dialogue to about 50 minutes before joining their teams for official talks.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed the private limousine meeting, highlighting the significance of this uninterrupted, one-on-one discussion between the two leaders.