Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin shared a car ride to an exhibition at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi after their bilateral talks ahead of the BRICS summit. The leaders met on Friday, marking their fourth joint car journey since last year's Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in China. The meeting took place ahead of the BRICS 2026 summit, which is scheduled to take place in New Delhi on Saturday.

The bilateral discussions, as reported by the Ministry of External Affairs, covered progress in India-Russia relations across sectors such as trade, energy, defense, space, and people-to-people ties. The two leaders also exchanged views on regional and global issues, including conflicts in West Asia and the Black Sea region. PM Modi reiterated that dialogue and diplomacy remain the way forward in resolving conflicts and that India is ready to assist in peace efforts.

During their meeting, PM Modi gifted Putin a Russian translation of the Thirukkural, a classical Tamil scripture composed by the weaver-saint Thiruvalluvar. In a subsequent post on X, Modi wrote that the translation carries the eternal wisdom of Thiruvalluvar across languages and borders. The Ministry of External Affairs stated that the leaders reviewed progress in bilateral cooperation and emphasized the importance of the enduring India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.

The two leaders also visited the INNOPROM India exhibition, a global industrial platform for showcasing technology and facilitating B2B networking. Putin invited Modi to Russia for the 24th India-Russia Annual Summit, which Modi accepted. The dates of the summit will be decided through diplomatic channels.

The meeting marked their second interaction in a fortnight, following their earlier meeting at the SCO Summit in Kyrgyzstan. The leaders were seen grinning and patting each other on the back at the New Delhi conference center, indicating a cordial relationship. However, the exact nature of their discussions and the specific outcomes of the talks remain unspecified in the available sources.

What remains unknown is the full scope of the discussions on regional and global issues, the specific details of the India-Russia Strategic Partnership, and the exact dates of the upcoming summit. The evidence provided does not include any statements from critics or opposing viewpoints, and no further developments have been reported.