Vietnam Pledges Support For Moscow Amid Russia-West Tensions - Prime Minister

Umer Jamshaid Published May 23, 2019 | 09:53 PM

Vietnam will stand by Moscow amid the political disagreements between Russia and a number of Western states, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told the Russian parliament's upper chamber chair, Valentina Matvienko, on Thursday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd May, 2019) Vietnam will stand by Moscow amid the political disagreements between Russia and a number of Western states, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told the Russian parliament's upper chamber chair, Valentina Matvienko, on Thursday.

"We have always supported and will support each other, especially under the current uneasy conditions of global politics. Our entire leadership and the Vietnamese people will always support and stand by Russia in spite of any difficulties. You [Russia] are always a very big friend for us," Nguyen said.

Nguyen also recalled that he had agreed with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday on the main aspects of future cooperation between Hanoi and Moscow, particularly in the energy, engineering, defense and security, and agriculture sectors. According to Nguyen, the meeting resulted in 14 cooperation agreements between the two states and dozens more between business actors on both sides being signed.

The Vietnamese delegation is still expected to attend the opening ceremony of the 2019-2020 cross years of Russia and Vietnam. The event is timed to the 70th anniversary of the start of bilateral diplomatic relations and 25th anniversary of the signing of the Agreement on Friendly Relations.

Since 2014, the West has exerted political and economic pressure on Moscow over its alleged involvement in the Ukrainian conflict and Crimea's reunification with Russia. The European Union and a number of states, including the United States, Canada and Australia, have since imposed several rounds of sanctions on Russia's energy, banking and defense sectors. Moscow has denied allegations of involvement and taken countermeasures.