Russian President Vladimir Putin is on his fifth state visit to communist Vietnam as part of his two-country tour. The Russian President landed in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi to much pomp and pageantry and was received at the airport by Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha and the South-East Asian nation’s top diplomat Le Hoai Trung. Putin is in the country; an old partner of Russia, to boost ties.
The focus of the visit is chiefly on trade, energy, education, security, investments and nuclear technology. Russia and Vietnam are also seeking to explore natural gas in the contested South China Sea. A key focus area of the visit is on an alternative payment method as Russia is heavily sanctioned by the West over the conflict in Ukraine. Both countries are working towards a mechanism to deal in local currencies, in this case, the Ruble and Dong, just like Russia has an agreement with India and China.
Putin has praised Vietnam for its pragmatic approach to the conflict in Ukraine. The United States has rebuked Vietnam over Putin’s visit to the country. The American embassy has stated that ‘no country should give a platform to Putin and allow him normalise his atrocities (in Ukraine). Hanoi has defended the visit by stating that the visit demonstrates that the country follows a balanced foreign policy and that it does not favour any major power. Vietnam’s foreign policy has been dubbed ‘Bamboo diplomacy’, as the policy is flexible and can sway without breaking. Last year the South East Asian manufacturing giant hosted U.S. President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Moscow and Hanoi share a long and healthy relationship. Soviet Russia was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with then North Vietnam. In the years to follow Soviet Union greatly helped North Vietnam materially in its fight against the United States and before that France. This year also marks 30-years of a treaty signed between Russia and Vietnam to establish friendly relations between the two countries after the breakup of the Soviet Union.
The visit is also a rare occasion for Putin to visit outside Russia after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against him over alleged war crimes in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Any nation which is a signatory of the ICC is obligated to arrest Putin if he enters their jurisdiction. Vietnam is not a member to the ICC.
(With Inputs from Reuters)
