Leaders of Russia and Vietnam meet to strengthen traditional friendly relations

Russian President Vladimir Putin met Vietnamese President To Lam in Hanoi on Thursday to strengthen traditional friendly relations between the two countries amid Western sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine.

Putin told Lam, Vietnam’s number two, that “Russia attaches great importance to developing dialogue with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations,” of which Vietnam is one of the main members. , according to the official Russian news agency Tass.

This is the Russian leader’s first state visit to Vietnam since his arrival in November 2013, although he last visited in November 2017 to attend a regional meeting, according to the news agency. official Vietnam.

Vietnam has long maintained close ties with Russia, its largest supplier of military equipment. But it has also strengthened its ties with the United States in recent years, with their bilateral relations improving last September.

Putin will also speak with Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Vietnam’s top leader, among others, according to Tass. Their talks are expected to focus on economic and defense cooperation between the two countries.

A VNA report on Thursday quoted Le Hoai Trung, secretary of the Communist Party Central Committee, as saying that Putin’s state visit is an illustration of Vietnam’s foreign policy of independence and autonomy in favor of peace as well as diversification and multilateralism.

Putin arrived in Vietnam early Thursday after his state visit to North Korea.

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