PM Modi, Putin hold rare hour-long private talks in limousine amid Trump's tariff pressure

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday held an unusually long private conversation in Putin’s limousine amid mounting pressure from Washington over India’s energy ties with Moscow.

After attending proceedings at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin, Putin invited Modi into his state-made Aurus limousine.

The two leaders spoke alone during the drive to their hotel and continued their tete-a-tete for nearly an hour inside the parked vehicle, according to Russian broadcaster VestiFM.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later confirmed the duration of the one-on-one. Modi posted a photo of the encounter on X, describing his discussions with Putin as “always insightful.”

Modi also took to social media to share a photo of himself and the Russian president inside the limousine.

Commentators in Moscow say perhaps this was the most important confidential conversation between Modi and Putin during which they probably discussed issues “not for the ears of others”.

The private talks took place as India is navigating intensifying economic pressure from Washington. Last month, President Donald Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian imports, citing New Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian oil despite US sanctions.

White House adviser Peter Navarro even labelled the conflict in Ukraine as “Modi’s war” and accused India of helping fund the Kremlin through discounted crude deals. During formal talks later in the day, Modi reiterated his call for “humanity’s sake” to end the war in Ukraine and pressed for a durable peace settlement.

We welcome all recent efforts to bring peace to Ukraine and hope that all the relevant sides will move forward "constructively", Modi said in his televised opening remarks.

The prime minister and the Russian president also deliberated on bilateral cooperation in sectors such as economic, financial, and energy and expressed satisfaction with the sustained growth in bilateral ties in these areas, according to an official readout.

"The prime minister reiterated his support for the recent initiatives that have been taken to address the conflict in Ukraine, and emphasised the need to expedite a cessation of the conflict, and find a durable peace settlement," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.

The two leaders reaffirmed their support for further strengthening of the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries, according to the MEA statement.

Putin is set to travel to India in December for summit talks with Modi.