Photo: Putin (right) attended a welcoming ceremony held by Vietnamese President To Lin at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on the 20th. \Reuters

[Ta Kung Pao News]According to reports from RIA Novosti and Reuters: After concluding his visit to North Korea, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, on the 20th local time to begin his state visit to Vietnam. Putin published an article in the Vietnamese media People’s Daily, praising Vietnam’s “balanced position” on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and saying that Vietnam supports “handling the (Ukrainian) crisis in a pragmatic way.”

This is Putin’s fifth visit to Vietnam as head of state. Vietnamese President To Lin welcomed Putin with the highest level of state etiquette. The two leaders held talks afterwards. Putin said that the two countries share the same position on many regional and international issues. In developing the Vladivostok Port-Ho Chi Minh City transport corridor, Russian companies are ready to start the construction of liquefied natural gas projects as co-investors and suppliers.

Su Lin said that Vietnam has always regarded Russia as a priority in its foreign policy and advocated the establishment of an equal and indivisible security and cooperation framework in the Asia-Pacific region. The two countries will strengthen cooperation in the fields of national defense security and clean energy.

After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Vietnam did not join the US and Europe in imposing sanctions on Russia, which was considered by Western countries as a “pro-Kremlin” stance. The Kremlin said that on the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on Basic Principles of Friendly Relations between Russia and Vietnam, Russia welcomes Vietnam’s willingness to join international efforts involving all parties concerned to find a peaceful and reliable solution to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.