“Remember who helped you when you were fighting American and French invaders” was essentially Russian President Vladimir Putin’s message to the Vietnamese government during his visit to Hanoi.

Putin noted that the Soviet Union had provided effective assistance to the “heroic struggle of the Vietnamese people against the French and American invaders and later contributed to the post-war reconstruction of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.’

“It is important that Vietnam remembers this, and honors the memory,” the Russian leader stated emphatically.

The Russian president called Vietnam one of Russia’s most reliable partners, with bilateral relations having come a long way, and having withstood many trials “with honor,” TASS reports.

“It is a pleasure to be in the welcoming Vietnam, the welcoming soil of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. One of our long-term and reliable friends and partners. Russia-Vietnam relations of trust and mutual understanding have come a long way and have withstood the trials of war with honor,” he said in a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

Moscow and Hanoi are strengthening cultural ties and Vietnam has become a popular destination for Russian tourists, Putin said after a meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart To Lam.

Putin thanked Vietnam for its “warm welcome in all respects”.

“When I say ‘hot,’ I mean not only the temperature on the road, but also the cordiality – and we see this – [με τον τρόπο που] the people of Hanoi greet our delegation in the streets. I convey to them my most sincere greetings and wishes for prosperity,” Putin said.

Welcoming Mr. Putin, at whose expense an arrest warrant has been issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), Hanoi is at risk to deeply resent its Western partners, above all in the US analysts report meanwhile. Washington considers the Vietnam of 100 million inhabitants country of strategic importance in terms of industrial production, especially semiconductors.