On the concluding day of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, it was not the speeches or official statements that captured the world’s attention, but the images that emerged from the event. A brief yet striking one-and-a-half-minute huddle between Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping became the highlight, with other leaders standing by and watching curiously. The visuals, rich in symbolism, offered a narrative of their own—one that words could not fully capture.
The first striking scene came as Modi and Putin walked hand in hand into the Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Centre in Tianjin. Their joint entry immediately stood out since all other leaders, including Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, had arrived individually, greeting Xi before moving forward. The unusual camaraderie between Modi and Putin was not lost on observers, as the two leaders bypassed protocol to make an entrance together.
The situation grew even more intriguing when Modi, Putin, and Xi formed a small cluster of animated conversation near the meeting hall. Their discussion carried on without interruption, with laughter and warmth on display—even from Xi, whose restrained demeanor during his earlier handshake with Modi had sparked speculation. Meanwhile, other leaders, unsure of how to react, quietly moved toward their designated positions, leaving the trio engrossed in their conversation.
For about ninety seconds, the three most powerful figures in the room remained in their private circle, speaking freely while the rest of the delegation stood by. The expressions on the faces of several leaders, particularly Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif, reflected surprise and discomfort as they watched Modi and Putin continue chatting animatedly with Xi before taking their seats.
This brief but impactful moment was bound to resonate beyond Tianjin. In Washington, for instance, the sight of Modi huddling with Putin and Xi would not go unnoticed, especially after Trump aide Peter Navarro had recently criticized the Indian Prime Minister for “going to bed with Putin and Xi.” Yet the SCO summit’s outcomes soon demonstrated that the significance of these images extended far beyond optics.
During his address, Modi openly criticized the “double standards” of some SCO member states—without naming any country directly. Remarkably, the final SCO statement aligned with his position, even going so far as to condemn the Pahalgam terror attack. This stood in stark contrast to the previous SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting in China, where Balochistan was mentioned in the declaration but not Kashmir, prompting Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to walk out without signing.
The optics did not end inside the conference hall. In a display of personal warmth, President Putin invited Modi to travel with him in his Aurus sedan following the summit. Putin reportedly waited for nearly ten minutes for the Indian Prime Minister to join him, eager to continue their conversation. The two leaders then drove together to the Ritz-Carlton, the venue for their bilateral meeting, where discussions carried on for another forty-five minutes. The photographs from this ride conveyed an unmistakable sense of camaraderie, with Putin’s admiration for Modi evident in his gestures and expressions.
When their bilateral talks began, Putin set the tone with a warm greeting: “Dear Mr. Prime Minister, dear friend, I am very happy to see you.” This expression of friendship underscored the deepening rapport between the two leaders and reinforced the message the images had already conveyed.
Ultimately, the summit—framed by an evolving global order and intensifying trade wars—was remembered less for its formal resolutions and more for the visual narratives it produced. The huddle of Modi, Putin, and Xi, the visible isolation of other leaders, and the unmistakable warmth between Modi and Putin painted a story that words alone could not. For the West, policymakers, and global observers alike, these images raised more questions than they answered. The true significance of these defining visuals will only become clearer with time.
