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The invasion of Ukraine has posed a diplomatic challenge for Vietnam, which it is “handling well” so far. According to the BBC, Vietnam has restrained itself from various UN resolutions condemning Russia’s actions, but has maintained good relations with Ukraine and even provided some assistance to Kiev.
Vietnam has adhered to its long-standing political principle of making friends with all countries but not forming formal alliances – what the Communist Party leadership calls “bamboo diplomacy”, going with the flow of great power competition without taking sides.
That is why Vietnam so easily improved relations with the United States, against which its former leaders waged a long and devastating war, in pursuit of lucrative export markets and to balance close ties with neighboring China. The United States objects to Putin’s official visit to Vietnam on the grounds that it undermines international efforts to isolate Russia.
Ahead of his arrival, Putin praised the country’s balanced approach to the war in Ukraine. Ahead of his state visit to Vietnam, Putin praised Vietnam for its support for a “pragmatic approach to resolving the Ukrainian crisis,” the Nation newspaper reported.
The Russian leader, who is visiting Vietnam for the first time since attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in 2017, said Russia and Vietnam also have “similar assessments of the situation in the Asia-Pacific region.”
Vietnam’s stance on the South China Sea differs from that of China, which claims the strategic waterway almost entirely as its own, including gas and oil fields within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone, where Russian companies extract oil and gas.
Today, the Russian leader will attend a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace and then hold bilateral talks with General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong. He will also meet with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Vietnamese students studying in Russia. Putin will also attend a state banquet.
Putin, isolated on the international stage, is trying to win over Russia’s remaining allies. It is unclear what exactly Vietnam hopes to gain from a visit by Vladimir Putin, who remains under an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes against Ukraine.
Critics believe that Putin’s brief visit to Vietnam and North Korea has both practical and symbolic significance.
“Putin’s visit to Vietnam will strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries and enhance economic ties through trade and investment commitments by adopting the ruble-Chinese currency exchange mechanism to pay for goods and services,” said Carl Thayer, professor emeritus of political science at the University of New South Wales in Australia and an expert on Vietnam.
During his stay in Hanoi, Putin will stay at the Sofitel Metropole hotel in France. Before Putin’s arrival, a jumbo jet chartered in Russia provided limousines for Putin during his visit to Hanoi.
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