Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin were traveling in the same car as they departed from Delhi’s Palam Technical Airport on Thursday evening.
President Putin is on a two-day state visit to India. He will hold the 23rd annual India-Russia summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on December 5.
Prime Minister Narendra reflects the importance India attaches to the visit Modi received Putin at Palam Airport in New Delhi with a warm embrace and a warm welcome to India after a gap of four years.
The two leaders left the airport in the same car, nearly three months after traveling together in a vehicle in China. Prime Minister Modi and President Putin traveled in the same vehicle, assigned to Putin in this case, to the venue of their bilateral meeting after the meeting at the venue of the SCO summit in The Chinese city of Tianjin in September 2025.
When Putin landed in India on Thursday, he received a grand welcome upon arrival that highlighted the strong ties between India and Russia. Prime Minister Modi was not seen in his usual Range Rover, but accompanied Russian leader Putin in a Toyota Fortuner on the way from the airport to the Prime Minister’s residence. The vehicle, registered as MH01EN5795, gained attention after pictures surfaced online. The vehicle runs on diesel and is part of a specialized fleet often deployed by security agencies for VIP movement.
Putin’s visit to India underscores Russia’s efforts to maintain global influence despite Western isolation.
The visit underscores India’s strategic balancing act in global politics as it strengthens ties with Russia while reorienting its relations with the West. Key negotiations may include the conflict in Ukraine, Afghanistan and the expansion of the India-Russia strategic partnership.
When asked about their carpooling in his Aurus Senat limousine in an interview on September 1, Putin said the car ride was his idea. “It was a symbol of our friendship,” Putin told India Today before leaving Moscow for Delhi.
“We talked during the drive; there’s always something to discuss. We even sat in the car for a while afterwards,” he added.
In September, Prime Minister Modi posted a photo of her on X. The apparent displays of friendship between the two leaders came amid strained Indo-US relations after Donald Trump imposed heavy tariffs on Russian oil purchases despite the war in Ukraine.
But Modi and Putin’s bonhomie goes back almost three decades. Modi visited Russia with then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2001 as Chief Minister of Gujarat.
