Putin’s state visit to Vietnam: As it happened

If negotiations on Ukraine are linked to the withdrawal of Russian troops, then this will never happen, because the Kiev regime does not want to leave power, Vladimir Putin stated. 

“This means that Kiev is interested in our troops remaining there,” the president said.

He added that Ukrainian attempts to squeeze the Russian Armed Forces out from near Kharkov “will cost them dearly.”

Vladimir Putin reiterated that in response to arms supplies to Ukraine, Russia has not ruled out supplying arms to other countries: “Let the West think about where it will end up later.”

Vladimir Putin raised a toast for stronger friendship between Russia and Vietnam, as well as peace and stability in Asia-Pacific region. 

Vietnam President To Lam praised ‘stability and growth’ of ‘friend’ Russia.

“Russia reinforces its position as a great power”, he said. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin invited Vietnam to think about cooperating with Russia in space exploration as he met with Vietnamese graduates of Russian and Soviet universities at the Hanoi Opera House.

“We must ensure the security of our countries. And this means we must think... about modern weapons, including those based on new physical principles. And this means that we must develop engineering, train specialists. You and I must think about the research in space… and not just near space, but deep space. We have many areas for joint work,” Putin said.

© AFP / Gavriil Grigorov

A memorandum on Russia’s project to build a Center for Nuclear Science and Technology in Vietnam, which was signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Hanoi, covers the next three years, Aleksey Likhachev, the head of Russia’s atomic energy agency Rosatom, has said.

“The document contains a clear schedule of activities for the development of the project for the period until 2027,” said Likhachev stated.

During his meeting with Vietnamese graduates of Russian and Soviet universities at the Hanoi Opera House, President Vladimir Putin addressed the issue of information security, saying that attempts by governments to reach out to younger generations should not be “boring” or “formal.”

“As soon as young people feel formalism, those efforts become meaningless, especially in the modern world, connected via the Internet and with free access to any information,” he explained.

According to Putin, there is no way to restrict the public's access to the massive flow of information available nowadays. “There is only one way to overcome the negative trends associated with this, namely, to be more convincing in the information field,” he said.

© Sputnik / Gavriil Grigorov

After visiting the Memorial to Fallen Heroes in Hanoi, Vladimir Putin travelled with his motorcade to the President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, where the Russian president took part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the final resting place of the Vietnamese revolutionary leader.

Russian-made Aurus limousine transports Russia's President Vladimir Putin during his official visit to Hanoi. © AFP / Athit Perawongmetha

The key points from a joint statement by Russia and Vietnam, issued during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Hanoi:

▪️ Vietnam welcomes the re-election of Vladimir Putin in 2024 and recognises the support of the Russian population for his foreign policy;

▪️ Russia and Vietnam agree to strengthen bilateral interaction, and create new mechanisms for cooperation;

▪️ Moscow and Hanoi oppose the deployment of weapons in space;

▪️ Russia highly appreciates Vietnam’s balanced and objective stance on the Ukraine crisis;

▪️ Vietnam strongly condemns the terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall outside Moscow in March and expresses support for Russia’s fight against terrorism;

▪️ Russia and Vietnam call for the creation of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital;

▪️ Moscow and Hanoi support strengthening the central role of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the system of interstate relations in the Asia-Pacific region;

▪️ Russia and Vietnam are intensifying the activities of a high-level working group on priority investment projects;

▪️ The countries agree to speed up the implementation of a project to build a Center for Nuclear Science and Technology in Vietnam.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has laid a wreath at the Memorial to Fallen Heroes in Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi. The memorial was opened in 1994 to mark the 40th anniversary of the Vietnamese victory over the French colonialists.

©  Kremlin