Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday that Moscow wants to resolve the Ukrainian conflict and that “eliminating its root causes” will be mandatory in any solution.
Speaking at a news conference with his Vietnamese counterpart, Bui Thanh Son, in Moscow, Lavrov said he briefed his colleague on the situation around Ukraine.
“We have provided (Vietnam) with relevant information about our approaches (to Ukraine — in the current situation and will seek a settlement of the conflict with the mandatory elimination of its root causes,” he said.
Lavrov said both nations are clear on further strengthening cooperation, focusing specifically on facilitating “comfortable and efficient payments” within the banking sector, which has been adversely affected by Western sanctions.
“Work is underway to protect our economic and financial ties from the harmful effects of such illegal restrictions, and today we have agreed to speed it up so that no one tries to question and, moreover, undermine the legitimate rights of Russia and Vietnam to develop cooperation under the reached agreements,” he said.
The minister conveyed Russia’s readiness to assist Vietnam in constructing a nuclear power plant and announced that Moscow will gift Vietnam a research vessel and inaugurate a regional Russian language learning center in Hanoi.
Lavrov also disclosed that Moscow and Hanoi are engaged in discussions on cooperation in oil and gas extraction.