HANOI: Russia and Vietnam pledged on Thursday to deepen ties as President Vladimir Putin made a state visit aimed at bolstering his alliances to counter Moscow's growing isolation over the war in Ukraine.
Putin travelled to Vietnam, a close ally of Moscow since the days of the Cold War, from a summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un where he won a pledge of "full support" on Ukraine and signed a mutual defence pact.
The Russian leader did not receive such a clear public declaration of support in Hanoi, but Vietnamese President To Lam indicated a desire to boost defence cooperation.
"The two sides want to push up cooperation in defence and security, how to deal with non-traditional security challenges on the basis of international law, for peace and security in the region and the world," Lam told reporters after talks with Putin.
Russia has been Vietnam's main arms supplier for decades, accounting for more than 80 per cent of imports between 1995 and 2023, but orders have dropped off in recent years as international sanctions related to the Ukraine conflict have intensified.
The two sides said in a joint statement that their defence and security cooperation was "not directed against any third country" and contributed to "peace, stability and sustainable development" in the region.
Lam and Putin signed around a dozen cooperation agreements ranging from education to justice and civil nuclear projects.
Putin told reporters the talks were constructive and that both sides had "identical or very close" positions on key international issues.
Putin later held talks with Nguyen Phu Trong, the powerful general secretary of the ruling Communist Party, and laid a wreath at the memorial to independence leader Ho Chi Minh.
Making his first visit to North Korea in 24 years on Wednesday, Putin signed a strategic treaty with Kim that included a commitment to come to each other's aid if attacked.
The two countries have been allies since North Korea's founding after World War II and have drawn even closer since Russia's attack of Ukraine in 2022.
Kim vowed his "full support and solidarity" over the war in Ukraine, which has also triggered rafts of UN sanctions on Moscow.
Putin called for a review of UN sanctions on North Korea and said the two countries would not submit to Western "blackmail".
Vietnam has abstained in UN votes condemning the Russian attack of Ukraine and, in an op-ed in the Communist Party mouthpiece Nhan Dan newspaper, Putin thanked Hanoi for its "balanced stance on the Ukraine crisis". — AFP
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