Day 1 of Vladimir Putin’s visit was about the optics. PM Modi was there to welcome the Russian president at the airport, a rare break in protocol, following which the two carpooled together and had an

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India’s popular nationalist leader, won a sweeping mandate for a second five-year term, setting the stage for further economic change but also more divisive social policies for his Hindu nationalist supporters.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin have graced billboards across India in recent weeks. One caption reads: “The dialogue began decades ago. We’re just turning up the volume.” Another hails the “old friendship” between the two nations.

Vladimir Putin is on a two-day visit to India on Thursday and Friday for annual summit talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin shared the same official car as they drove out of Delhi airport, replaying their much-discussed “car diplomacy” from the SCO summit in Tianjin earlier this year.