Vladimir Putin visited Vietnam, bolstering support from an old ally in Asia amid Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine.
Visiting Vietnam for the first time since 2017, Putin arrived in the country’s capital Hanoi and was received by President To Lam. As the Russian news agency “Interfax” reports, the leaders of the two countries agreed to expand cooperation in energy and research in the field of nuclear science and technology.
Putin, joined by Defense Minister Andriy Belousov, said both Russia and Vietnam believed in “building a reliable, appropriate security architecture in Asia … based on the principles of non-use of force and peaceful resolution of disputes.” He added that there will be no place for closed military-political blocs. Ahead of the visit, Putin also thanked Vietnam for its “considered stance” on Russia’s war against Ukraine.
A member of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party, which recently came to power, praised Putin before the start of closed-door talks, saying Russia’s global standing was “steadily growing” under his leadership.
“Our people and I personally consider the development of bilateral relations very important and highly appreciate your support for the relations between our states”, – he said.
Although Russia and Vietnam have been close allies since the Cold War, the luster of that relationship has faded in recent years as Vietnam has cultivated warmer relations with the United States in an effort to balance the projection of Chinese power, political analysts say.
Vietnam is gradually abandoning its dependence on Russian defense equipment and last year upgraded its relationship with the United States to the highest possible level, giving it the same status as China and Russia. The United States is now Vietnam’s biggest export market, and it has been increasing security assistance, especially at sea, where Vietnam faces incursions from Chinese forces.
U.S. Embassy officials earlier this week criticized Hanoi for agreeing to host Putin, who faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court on charges of illegally deporting and handing over Ukrainian children, a war crime, during Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“No country should give Putin a platform to promote his war of aggression and otherwise allow him to normalize his atrocities.” – said the US Embassy.
Putin’s visit to Hanoi is part of a concerted campaign to bolster international support in the face of growing Western efforts to shun his country, including increased sanctions. He visited China last month, and earlier this week he visited North Korea, where he signed a new strategic treaty with leader Kim Jong-un.
“For Putin, the visit to Vietnam is a chance to demonstrate that Russia still has global influence. Vietnam is an important country in a large region that is increasingly being courted by the world’s superpowers. Russia, of course, wants to show that it is still a friend.” – believes Oleksandr Vuving, a professor at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu, who studies Vietnam’s foreign policy.
