Russia ready to share experience of testing military equipment with Vietnam - Shoigu

HANOI, January 23. /TASS/. Russia’s military is ready to share with its Vietnamese colleagues the experience of testing military equipment in combat conditions, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Tuesday. "Vietnam is our time-tested partner with which we have trust relationship based on friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation. We are ready to receive your experts for consultations with our specialists and to share the experience of testing the equipment in real combat conditions," Shoigu said at talks with Vietnam’s Defense Minister Ngo Xuan Lich. It’s one of Russia’s foreign policy priorities to maintain close and trust-based relations with Vietnam, Shoigu said. "We view your country as a strategic partner, a long and reliable friend. Vietnam for us is one of the most important partners in ensuring security in the Asia-Pacific region," he said. The minister noted that bilateral political dialogue at the highest level has been developing. Its key events were last year’s meetings of Russian President Vladimir Putin with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang in Moscow and at the APEC summit in Da Nang. "We are set to fulfill the agreements reached at the highest level on further developing military cooperation," Shoigu said. In November last year, deputy defense ministers of the two countries successfully held the third round of strategic dialogue in the defense field. The sides signed a number of documents on military cooperation, including a memorandum on cooperation in peacekeeping activity based on the UN Charter, he said. "We highly appreciate Russian-Vietnamese ties in naval and military education areas." Read more