Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi walked hand in hand as they arrived to meet Xi Jinping at a major summit in China aimed at establishing a new world order and challenging the West.
The Russian president and the Indian prime minister beamed as they strolled into the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation talks in Tianjin, where Xi hosted more than 20 non-Western leaders.
The summit was billed as an alternative to the US-led global system and was packed with displays of unity between Moscow, Beijing and Delhi.
The three leaders were later seen laughing together in a huddle in what appeared to be a show of solidarity against Washington and its allies.
Modi shared a photograph of himself with Putin inside the president's armoured Aurus limousine after the summit. It was captioned: 'Always a delight to meet President Putin. Conversations with him are always insightful.'
