Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 8 congratulated Vietnam's Communist Party General Secretary and President To Lam on his election as the party's supreme authority.

Party General Secretary and President To Lam during a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: VNA

During the telephone conversation, President Putin recalled his recent visit to Vietnam. He thanked General Secretary and President Lam for the warm welcome and highly appreciated the talks with Vietnamese leaders during the visit.

The Russian leader believed Lam would lead the Party, Government, and people of Vietnam to further success in national construction and development and Party building.

President Putin also looked forward to welcoming General Secretary and President To Lam on a visit to Russia.

In response, General Secretary and State President To Lam thanked President Putin and the Russian leadership for sending a delegation to attend the funeral of the late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong last month.

According to Lam, this action proves the high level of bilateral relations between Vietnam and Russia and the special affection of President Putin and Russian leaders for the late General Secretary and the Party, Government, and people of Vietnam.

The General Secretary and President said Mr. Trong was an outstanding leader of the Party, Government, and people of Vietnam.

In nearly 60 years of his revolutionary career, the late General Secretary made tireless contributions to the cause of the Party and the nation and paid special attention to fostering the friendly, comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Russia.

According to Lam, Vietnam consistently pursues a foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralism, and diversification of international relations.

Vietnam will continue to put Russia at the top of its foreign policy priority list and strengthen its comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia.

Lam expected bilateral relations to continue to grow, bring great practical benefits to the two peoples, and contribute to peace and common growth in the region and the world.

During the telephone conversation, the two leaders agreed that Vietnam-Russia relations have made significant progress in all fields, including national defense, security, oil and gas, and trade.

To strengthen their ties, Secretary-General and President Lam and President Putin discussed and reached a consensus on major directions in both bilateral and multilateral cooperation frameworks.