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VIETNAM: RUSSIAN PRESIDENT PUTIN VISIT

(1 Mar 2001) Russian/Nat Seeking to rebuild a once-strong Cold War alliance, Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong agreed on Thursday to promote a strategic partnership. The two leaders signed an agreement on strategic cooperation, a move that reunites Hanoi with its one-time Communist benefactor and gives Moscow its strongest ally in Southeast Asia. Putin told reporters it would be a stupid and unforgivable idea to lose the potential and high level of the relationship which existed between Russia and Vietnam. Luong agreed, saying the two countries were "seeking ways to bring our economic, trade, and technological cooperation to a higher and more effective level, to match our fine political relations". Putin's visit, the first by a Russian or Soviet leader despite a half-century of diplomatic ties, was widely lauded by Vietnamese leaders and the state-controlled press, but has drawn only muted public interest. Only a scattering of people were on hand to wave Vietnamese and Russian flags as Putin's motorcade pulled into Hanoi late Wednesday. It provided a sharp contrast to the thousands who spontaneously filled the streets during U.S. President Bill Clinton's arrival last November. Putin received an official red-carpet reception Thursday at Hanoi's ornate Presidential Palace before he and Luong moved into closed-door talks. The leaders presided over the signing of agreements on expanding oil and gas exploration, cooperating on banking and investment issues, and increasing military cooperation and science and technology exchanges. However, talks on renewing Russia's lease on a key military base in southern Vietnam's Cam Ranh Bay, set to expire in 2004, were expected to be difficult. The base, once used by U-S forces, serves as Moscow's strategic foothold in the region. China and the United States are both believed to be interested in gaining access to the massive base. Vietnam is the second leg of Putin's Asian tour, a trip aimed at boosting Russian influence in the region. The Soviet Union was Vietnam's mainstay during the Vietnam War, supplying military and economic assistance to Communist North Vietnam, but relations have been strained since the collapse of the Soviet Union a decade ago. During his earlier stop in South Korea, Putin was hoping to gain the support of South Korea in criticizing U-S plans for a missile defense system, but Seoul officials did not take a public position on the U-S project. Russia says the system could re-ignite nuclear competition. Putin is expected to easily gain Hanoi's support, since Vietnam has publicly opposed the plan. Economic and trade ties are also expected to get a major boost, since bilateral trade volume totaled only dlrs 363 million in 2000. Russia currently ranks eighth among foreign investors in Vietnam. Russia's two biggest projects are Vietsovpetro, a joint oil and gas venture, and an oil refinery - Vietnam's first - being built in Dung Quat. Putin was scheduled to hold meetings later Thursday with Prime Minister Phan Van Khai and National Assembly Speaker Nong Duc Manh. He also was to meet with leaders of Vietsovpetro, one of the world's largest oil companies. Last year, Russia and Vietnam reached an agreement on repaying Vietnam's debt to the former Soviet Union, a long-standing barrier to closer ties. Vietnam agreed to pay dlrs 1.7 billion over 23 years. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) "It would be a stupid and unforgivable idea to lose the potential and high level of the relationship which existed between our two countries." Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...