HANOI, Vietnam — Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a series of deals with his Vietnamese counterpart To Lam on Thursday, during a state visit that comes as Moscow is seeking to bolster ties in Asia to offset growing international isolation over its military actions in Ukraine.
The two signed agreements to further cooperation on education, science and technology, oil and gas exploration and health. They also agreed to work on a roadmap for a nuclear science and technology center in Vietnam.
Following the talks, Putin said that the two countries share an interest in “developing a reliable security architecture” in the Asia-Pacific Region based on not using force and peacefully settling disputes with no room for “closed military-political blocs.”
Vietnam’s new President To Lam congratulated Putin on his re-election and praised Russia’s “domestic political stability.”
North Korean visit
Putin arrived in Hanoi early Thursday morning from North Korea, where he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed an agreement that pledges mutual aid in the event of war. The strategic pact that could mark the strongest connection between Moscow and Pyongyang since the end of the Cold War comes as both face escalating standoffs with the West.
Putin drove to Vietnam’s Presidential Palace on Thursday afternoon, where he was greeted by school children waving Russian and Vietnamese flags. There, he shook hands with and embraced Lam before a bilateral meeting and a joint briefing to the media.
He met Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh later in the afternoon and is also scheduled to meet Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong — Vietnam’s most powerful politician — and parliamentary chief Tran Thanh Man.
Russia is keen to maintain “close and effective cooperation” in energy, industry, technology, education, security and trade, said Russian Ambassador to Vietnam Gennady S. Bezdetko on Wednesday, according to Vietnamese official media.
The trip has resulted in a sharp rebuke from the U.S. Embassy in the country.
Much has changed since Putin’s last visit to Vietnam in 2017. Russia now faces a raft of U.S.-led sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine. In 2023, the International Criminal Court in Hague issued an arrest warrant for Putin for war crimes. The Kremlin rejected it as “null and void,” stressing that Moscow doesn’t recognize the court’s jurisdiction. / AP