All this is fully consistent with the spirit and nature of our relations, said Putin, who is on a state visit here at the invitation of Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

In his article Putin stresses that in the international arena ‘Hanoi pursues an independent foreign policy and is a staunch defender of a just world order based on international law, on the principles of equality of all states and non-interference in their internal affairs’.

We highly value the fact that our countries have overlapping or similar approaches to current issues on the international agenda, he adds before noting that we interact closely on key multilateral platforms, mainly at the UN, and have similar assessments of the situation in the Asia-Pacific region.

We see Vietnam as a like-minded partner in the formation of a new equal and indivisible Eurasian security architecture on an inclusive and non-discriminatory basis, the text notes, calling this fifth trip symbolic as it comes 30 years after the signing of the Russian-Vietnamese Treaty on the Foundations of Friendly Relations.

This strategic document has opened up wide opportunities for strengthening and developing the whole range of bilateral ties, and in the new historical stage it has given them a powerful impetus and growing dynamics, it considers.

Putin’s text further stresses that the origin of bilateral cooperation lay in the great son of the Vietnamese people and a great friend of our country, Ho Chi Minh.

Russia honors the memory of this outstanding patriot, politician and statesman, who always firmly defended the sovereignty and freedom of his homeland, it stresses.

He also recalls that our country gave significant assistance to the heroic struggle of the Vietnamese people against foreign invaders, and after the victory and complete liberation from the occupiers, Soviet builders, engineers, doctors, teachers and scientists helped Vietnam rebuild the country.

ef/abo/mem/mpm