'Strategic partners pushed into arms of adversaries': US Congresswoman shares PM Modi, Putin's car photo

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s selfie in the car has not only gone viral on social media, it has reached the US Congress too. Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove held up the widely-shared image and blasted US President Donald Trump for pushing towards Russia.

"Trump's policies towards India can only be described as cutting our nose to spite our face and this is doing real and lasting damage to the strategic trust and mutual understanding between our two countries. Because let me be clear, being a coercive partner has a cost,” she said, pointing towards the photo. “This poster is worth 1,000 words.”

“You do not get a Nobel Peace Prize by driving US strategic partners into the arms of our adversaries. We must move with incredible urgency to mitigate the damage this administration has done to the US-India partnership and return to the cooperation that is essential to the US prosperity, security and global leadership,” she said.

Soon after landing at Delhi’s Palam Airport in his first India visit since the Russia-Ukraine war began, Putin rode in the car with PM Modi to the prime minister’s residence in Lok Kalyan Marg. This gesture was seen as a clear sign of personal warmth between the two leaders. They had, before that, travelled in the same car during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit, which was also widely talked about.

In his interview with India Today, Putin said, "The car ride with PM Modi was my idea. It was a symbol of our friendship.”