JAKARTA - President Vladimir Putin said Russia's friendship with Vietnam was tested by time, when he visited the country after visiting North Korea and holding a meeting with Kim Jong-un.
President Putin arrived at Noi Bai International Airport, Hanoi on Thursday morning. He was greeted by Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha and senior diplomat Le Hoai Trung.
In an article in the Nhan Dan newspaper published in the context of President Putin's visit, Vietnam and Russia have the same assessment of the situation in the Asia-Pacific region. The two countries also support the construction of a new Eurasian security architecture.
"We really appreciate the fact that our country has the same or similar approach to urgent issues on the international agenda. We are working closely together in major international forums, especially at the United Nations," President Putin wrote, quoted by TASS.
"We have the same assessment of the situation in the Asia-Pacific region. We see Vietnam as a partner who thinks equally in shaping a new architecture of Eurasian security that is equivalent and inseparable from an inclusive and non-discriminatory basis," he continued.
This is the fifth time he has visited the country, leading a delegation that will hold talks with high-ranking Vietnamese leaders, discussing the situation in both countries and the world, in particular, issues of common interest, including peace, cooperation, and development.
"It is a symbol that our next visit to Vietnam will take place around a date that marks the 30-year anniversary of the Russia-Vietnam Agreement on the Basis of Friendship Relations. These strategic documents open up great opportunities to strengthen and develop a whole series of bilateral relations, give them a strong push and improve their dynamics at a new historical stage," he wrote, citing the Kremlin website.
"The tradition of friendship and mutual support that has been tested over time provides a solid foundation for advancing bilateral relations of comprehensive strategic partnerships," he said.
Vietnam itself has prepared to welcome President Putin, who last visited 2017. He is scheduled to meet with Communist Party Leader Nguyen Phu Trong, State President To Lam and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
The Russian leader will also attend the wreath-laying ceremony, including at Mausoleum Ho Chi Minh, which holds the body of the founding leader of Vietnam. The two countries have historically had close ties and have the same Communist roots. Tens of thousands of cadres studied in the former Soviet Union during the Cold War, including the current head of the Vietnam Communist Party, Trong.
"President Vladimir Putin is a person who has contributed a lot to Vietnam-Russia relations. He has always had good feelings and attention to Vietnam and respects relations with senior Vietnamese leaders," said Defense Ministry newspaper Quan Doi Nhan and in an article.
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Russia has historically been Vietnam's main military supplier, so any potential gun deals will be closely watched.
President Putin is also expected to announce agreements in various sectors including trade, investment, technology and education, two officials told Reuters this week, although that could change.
Separately, the United States, one of Vietnam's main partners, who last year stepped up diplomatic relations and Vietnam's export major markets, criticized the Kremlin Leader's visit.
"No country is allowed to give Putin a platform to promote its aggression war and instead allow it to normalize its atrocities," a spokesman for the US Embassy in Hanoi said this week.
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