Russia and Vietnam yesterday pledged to deepen ties as Russian President Vladimir Putin made a state visit aimed at bolstering his alliances to counter Moscow’s growing isolation over the war in Ukraine.
Putin traveled to Vietnam, a close ally of Moscow since the days of the Cold War, from a summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un where he won a pledge of “full support” on Ukraine and signed a mutual defense pact.
The Russian leader did not receive such a clear public declaration of support in Hanoi, but Vietnamese President To Lam indicated a desire to boost defense cooperation.
Photo: Kremlin Pool via EPA-EFE
“The two sides want to push up cooperation in defense and security, how to deal with non-traditional security challenges on the basis of international law, for peace and security in the region and the world,” Lam told reporters after talks with Putin.
Russia has been Vietnam’s main arms supplier for decades, accounting for more than 80 percent of imports between 1995 and last year, but orders have dropped off over the past few years as international sanctions related to the Ukraine conflict have intensified.
The two sides in a joint statement said that their defense and security cooperation was “not directed against any third country,” and contributed to “peace, stability and sustainable development” in the region.
Photo: AFP
Lam and Putin signed about a dozen cooperation agreements ranging from education to justice and civil nuclear projects.
Putin told reporters the talks were constructive and that both sides had “identical or very close” positions on key international issues.
He said they discussed creating “an adequate and reliable security architecture in Asia-Pacific based on the principles of not resorting to force, and of resolving differences peacefully.”
Putin later held talks with Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong — who is No. 1 in the country’s hierarchy — and laid a wreath at the memorial to Vietnamese independence leader Ho Chi Minh.
Putin’s Asia tour came as Western powers stepped up sanctions aimed at constraining Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The US, the UK and the EU all announced new sanctions over the past week, while the G7 agreed to use profits from frozen Russian assets to provide a new US$50 billion loan to Kyiv.
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