Vladimir Putin said he wanted to partner with Vietnam in energy and security as he met the country’s leader on Thursday on a visit to Hanoi condemned by the US.
The Russian President was welcomed by Vietnamese President To Lam with a red carpet and 21-gun salute during a military ceremony.
The trip to the south east Asian nation, which comes on the heels of a lavish visit to North Korea, is intended as a demonstration of diplomatic for Russia in the region.
President Lam congratulated Putin on his re-election and praised Russia for “domestic political stability”, as the two met in Hanoi.
“Once again, congratulations to our comrade for receiving overwhelming support during the recent presidential election, underlining the confidence of the Russian people,” he said.
Putin responded by saying strengthening a comprehensive strategic partnership with Vietnam was one of Russia’s priorities.
The Russian leader said he respected dialogue with the regional bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, in which he said Vietnam played an active role.
The visit has drawn criticism from the US, among Vietnam’s top trade partners, which has warned it risks normalising Russia’s “blatant violations of international law”.
A spokesperson for the US embassy in Hanoi warned ahead of the visit that “no country should give Putin a platform to promote his war of aggression” in Ukraine and “allow him to normalise his atrocities.”
Communist Vietnam’s ties to Russia are close and go back many decades, but much has changed since Mr Putin’s last visit in 2017.
Russia now faces a raft of US-led sanctions and international condemnation over the invasion of Ukraine and last year the International Criminal Court in Hague issued an arrest warrant for Mr Putin for war crimes.
However neither Vietnam nor Russia are members of the ICC.
Vietnam is the third nation Putin has visited, after China and North Korea, since he was sworn in for a fifth term in May.
Putin signed a defence pact with North Korean leader Kim Jong Um during his two day visit to Pyongyang this week, in one of Russia’s most significant moves in the Asia Pacific in years.
Before leaving he was gifted a pair of Pungsan dogs while he gave a Aurus limousine to President Kim.
Video released by Russian state television showed the two dictators taking turns at the wheel of the Russian-built car.
