International desk: Putin is in Beijing to attend the Belt and Road Initiative conference. Putin met with the leaders of Thailand and Vietnam on the sidelines of the conference. At this time, he accepted the invitation to visit their country, the BBC reported.
Vietnam has maintained good relations with Russia since the days of the Soviet Union. Even their biggest arms exporter is Moscow. The country’s president, Vo Van Thung, said Putin had accepted his invitation “with pleasure” and would visit Vietnam soon.
Meanwhile, Thai Prime Minister Sretha Thavisin said, “President Putin likes Phuket (a popular resort island); I understand that he travels often.”
No dates have been set for those visits. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has limited Putin’s ability to travel. Because the International Criminal Court (ICC) earlier this year issued an arrest warrant against Putin for allegedly deporting thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia.
Neither Thailand nor Vietnam is a state party to the ICC Rome Statute.
