Vietnam is risking a lot of anger in the US by welcoming Russia's Vladimir Putin. But Hanoi needs modern weapons and — according to a secret deal leaked last year — it is set to buy them from Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Vietnam to a rather muted welcome, a contrast to his lavish visit to North Korea earlier this week. The visit has already prompted condemnation from Washington, with the US saying Vietnam welcoming Putin was normalizing Moscow's "blatant violations of international law," referring to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Paying for Russian weapons under the tableUp until 2022, Russia was the largest provider of weapons to Vietnam.

Source: New York Times June 21, 2024 12:27 UTC