Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi after his visit to North Korea. The Russian news agency Interfax reported this on Wednesday evening. Putin was received with military honors at the start of his state visit – but not as pompously as before in Pyongyang, where he was personally greeted by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday.
According to Russian sources, Putin is expected to meet with the General Secretary of the Communist Party, Ngueyn Phu Trong, at whose invitation he is in Hanoi, as well as with President To Lam and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
Talks are planned on “the state and prospects for the further development of a comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and Vietnam in trade and economy, research and technology, as well as in humanitarian areas,” it says. The two-day visit will also address international political issues.
Putin is also expected to meet Vietnamese students in Hanoi who studied in Russia or the former Soviet Union. Relations between the two countries have been considered to be based on partnership since Soviet times – not least because Moscow helped Hanoi in the Vietnam War.
Putin, who is under sanctions in the West because of his war of aggression against Ukraine, is looking for partners in the East. According to observers, he is also interested in possible arms suppliers.
Vietnam is officially neutral in the war. According to information from the Kremlin, Putin’s delegation includes Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin, the head of the Russian agency for military-technical cooperation, Dmitry Shugaev, and the director of the arms company Rosoboronexport, Alexander Mikheyev.
According to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the new defense alliance between Russia and North Korea shows the increasing rapprochement between authoritarian powers and underlines the importance of a united front of democracies.
“We have to be clear that the authoritarian powers are moving ever closer together. They are supporting each other in a way we have never seen before,” Stoltenberg said during an official visit to Ottawa. North Korea has supplied Russia with “an enormous amount of ammunition,” while China and Iran are providing military support to Moscow in the war against Ukraine.
The growing proximity between Russia and other Asian states makes it even more important for NATO to work with its allies in the Asia-Pacific region.
That is why the heads of government of Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea have been invited to a NATO summit in Washington next month. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an agreement with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that contains mutual defense commitments.
