(VOVworld) – President Truong Tan Sang has granted an interview to Russian news agencies as he is in Russia to attend the 70th anniversary of the victory over fascism in the Great Patriotic War.
He said that the people of Vietnam and around the world will never forget the heroism and sacrifice of millions of Russian soldiers who died in the struggle against fascism. This victory, he said, inspired the struggle for national independence in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. President Sang said the lesson from the victory is the need to unite and cooperate to defend peace, prevent risks of conflicts and wars, respect the legitimate rights and interests of other nations based on international law and bilateral and multilateral mechanisms, increase mutual understanding, and consolidate friendship and solidarity among nations.
President Sang acknowledged considerable progress in cooperation between Vietnam and Russia in recent years. Russia has been one of Vietnam’s leading trade partners. Over the last 10 years, two-way trade has increased from 400 million USD to 2.76 billion USD with a view of reaching 10 billion USD by 2020. President Sang said he believed the Vietnam-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership will continue to grow. With regard to the East Sea, he said Vietnam adheres to the maintenance of peace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea as well as the settlement of maritime disputes through peaceful means based on international law including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Vietnam’s policy is to fully comply with the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, refrain and avoid actions that might increase tensions in the region including the unilateral use of force to change the status quo. President Sang also underlined the need to establish a Code of Conduct in the East Sea. He said he hoped that Russia will continue to cooperate with Vietnam in all areas, particularly in oil and gas projects in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, contributing to peace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea.