HANOI, March 23. /TASS/. Military and military-technical cooperation between Moscow and Hanoi meets criteria of the international law, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday after talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh.
"Russia and Vietnam share views on the problems of the world order and call for respecting the international law, the central role of the United Nations, a collective approach to solving any issues and solely peaceful methods of settling any disputes," Lavrov said.
Russia and Vietnam seek to set up "such an architecture of cooperation which would ensure sustainable development and meet interests of security" of all countries of the Asia-Pacific Region, Russia’s top diplomat said.
"Military and military-technical cooperation between Russia and Vietnam fully meets these criteria," he stressed.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should have a central and encouraging role in the joint efforts of building the new inclusive off-bloc architecture, Lavrov said.
ASEAN was set up on August 8, 1967 in Bangkok. The organization brings together Brunei, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. Russia has been ASEAN’s dialogue partner since 1996.