The Russian president wants to strengthen ties with Hanoi, particularly its trade
He was welcomed by his counterpart To Lam came to power last May.
Vladimir Poutine is making an official visit to a country that is a regular buyer of its military equipment.
Russia has in fact represented around 80% of Vietnamese arms imports since the early 2000s.
Shortly before his arrival, in an article published in an organ of the Vietnamese Communist Party newspaper, Vladimir Putin thanked Hanoi for its “balanced” approach to the war in Ukraine,
The Russian president also estimated that the two countries have a “similar” reading of the situation in the Asia-Pacific region.
By welcoming Vladimir Putin, against whom an arrest warrant has been issued by the International Criminal Court, Hanoi exposes itself to the risk of arousing strong resentment among its Western partners, particularly Americans.
Washington considers Vietnam a country of strategic importance in terms of industrial production, particularly semiconductors.
Last year, the country hosted the presidents of China and the United States, with Hanoi keen to maintain an equal distance between the two rival superpowers.
Vietnam after North Korea
This visit follows that carried out in North Koreawhere Vladimir Putin signed with Kim Jong-un an agreement promising mutual aid in the event of war.
Pyongyang has been accused of supplying Russia with badly needed munitions to fuel its war in Ukraine, in exchange for technological assistance for its nuclear weapons and missile program.
