‘No secret’: Putin reveals what he told PM Modi during Tianjin ‘car ride’; it’s about Alaska talks with Trump

Russian President Vladimir Putin has revealed that he briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his recent meeting with US President Donald Trump in Alaska during a limousine ride on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in China’s Tianjin.

The interaction took place inside Putin’s Russian-made Aurus limousine, where the two leaders shared a brief private moment amid the high-level multilateral gathering.

“This is no secret, I told him (Modi) what we talked about in Alaska,” Putin said at a press conference in China, according to Russian news agency TASS.

Putin’s remarks offer the first confirmation of what was discussed during the much-talked-about car ride with PM Modi at the recently concluded 25th SCO summit.

The Russian President also provided new details about his meeting with Trump in Alaska, describing it as a brief but notable exchange.

“Of course we spoke English. Broken English. I had very limited talks with President Trump as the ride took some 30 seconds. I told him that I was glad to see him alive and healthy. It was more of a small talk,” Putin added.

Prime Minister Modi later took to X to share the moment.

“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,” PM Modi posted.

According to reports, President Putin waited approximately 10 minutes for PM Modi before the two boarded the vehicle. Their drive to the hotel, which lasted about 15 minutes, evolved into a much longer engagement.

Instead of heading directly into the meeting room upon arrival, the two leaders remained inside the car for an extended discussion.

“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. However, on reaching the hotel, they did not deboard the Russian president’s limousine and continued their conversation for a further 45 minutes,” reported Russian national radio station VestiFM.

Later, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed the nature and length of the private meeting.

“He did not want to interrupt the important conversation. But the ‘home walls’ of the car also played a role,” Peskov told a Russian pool TV reporter covering Putin’s visit.

“They were at home. That’s the first thing. And secondly, when there’s an important discussion going on, there’s simply no time to interrupt walking and moving to different venues and so on. They felt comfortable there, and that’s why they continued the conversation. But the (bilateral) agenda is really more than intense,” he added.

Putin’s Aurus limousine, built to stringent security specifications, is designed to block external surveillance and eavesdropping — a likely factor in the leaders’ decision to continue talking inside the vehicle.

Analysts in Moscow believe this was one of the most significant confidential exchanges between the two, with sensitive strategic matters possibly discussed — ones “not for the ears of others.”

With inputs from agencies