Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has pledged to strengthen military cooperation between the Russian and Vietnamese defense ministries at a meeting with Vietnamese Deputy Minister of National Defense Nguyen Chi Vinh held in Moscow, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Russian Minister of Defence held a meeting in Moscow with the Deputy Minister of the National Defence of Vietnam, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh, December 3, 2018. (Picture source Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation)

"We are ready to continue coordinating our joint actions to develop Russian-Vietnamese relations given the fact that 2019 will be a cross year of Russian and Vietnamese cultures. I am sure that our meeting will contribute to further strengthening of friendly ties between the defense ministers of the two countries in the spirit of strategic partnership," Shoigu emphasized.

For his part, Nguyen Chi Vinh said that Russia had always been and remained a reliable ally for Vietnam. Today the two countries are facing the task of upgrading bilateral relations to a new level, Vietnam’s deputy minister of national defense said adding that he had come to Moscow to express determination to make the previous agreements on strengthening military cooperation between Russia and Vietnam more concrete. He described as "extremely unstable" the situation in the world and in the region where Vietnam is located. Nguyen Chi Vinh expressed the hope that his country and Russia could cooperate in the solution of global problems.

Later on, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Colonel General Alexander Fomin held the fourth round of a strategic dialogue at the level of deputy defense ministers of Russia and Vietnam. The sides exchanged views on security situation in the Asia-Pacific region and discussed the current state of Russian-Vietnamese relations in the military sphere and prospects for their development. The meeting demonstrated reciprocal determination to step up and develop bilateral defense ties.