(Washington) A senior U.S. official is traveling to Vietnam Friday and Saturday to reaffirm U.S. support, just after Russian President Vladimir Putin visits, the State Department said Thursday.
Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific Daniel Kritenbrink is traveling to Hanoi to meet with senior Vietnamese government officials and “underscore the United States’ strong commitment to implementing the strategic partnership between the United States and Vietnam,” according to a statement.
He will “reaffirm United States support for a Vietnam that is strong, independent, resilient and prosperous,” the text adds.
In Hanoi on Thursday, Vladimir Putin pledged to develop relations with Vietnam, to which his country has sold weapons for decades.
The United States does not view this visit by the Russian president to Vietnam favorably, but above all they intend to advance their own pawns and do not make a break in relations between Russia and Vietnam a condition of their support. .
“Vietnam has a policy and strategy of collaboration with many different countries, and severing ties with Russia or China is not a condition of our partnership,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen assured Thursday , asked about this during a press conference in Atlanta (south).
Privately, American diplomats concede that they would prefer Hanoi to reduce its ties with Moscow, but neither expect it nor ask for it.
Relations between the United States and Vietnam have strengthened, including in the military and economic fields, the two countries having largely reconciled despite the scars of war.
They signed a reinforced strategic partnership agreement, with strong economic and technological content, with the United States offering its strategic support in the face of Chinese ambitions.