Vladimir Putin has arrived in Vietnam for talks with its communist leaders on the final stop of his two-nation tour of Asia after signing a defence pact with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un.
Putin Arrives In Vietnam For State Visit Condemned By US
Vladimir Putin has arrived in Vietnam for talks with its communist leaders on the final stop of his two-nation tour of Asia after signing a defence pact with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un. The visit has drawn criticism from the US, among Vietnam’s top trade partners, which has warned it risks normalising Russia’s “blatant violations of international law”.
Putin is set to discuss collaboration in “trade and economic, scientific, technological and humanitarian areas” as well as to exchange views on key issues on the international and regional agenda. Vietnam’s Communist party newspaper Nhan Dan, Putin listed progress on payments, energy and trade between the countries. He also applauded Vietnam for supporting “a pragmatic way to solve the crisis” in Ukraine.
Vietnam, a manufacturing powerhouse, has grown closer to the US and its allies, and last year Communist party leader, Nguyen Phu Trong, hosted US president Joe Biden and upgraded ties with Washington, as well as with Australia and Japan. Trade between the two countries stood at just $3.5bn in 2022 – far less than Vietnam’s $175bn trade with China and $123bn with the United States.
The two countries do have strong energy ties, however, with Russian firms operating in Vietnamese oil and gas in fields in the South China Sea – areas also claimed by China. Russia is also the biggest supplier of weapons to the country, though arms transfers have fallen over recent years, especially after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was warmly welcomed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warmly at Pyongyang’s airport, marking Putin’s first visit to the North Korean capital in over two decades. The agreement includes a clause requiring the countries to come to each other’s aid if either is attacked, raising western concerns about potential Russian aid for North Korea’s missile or nuclear programmes.
