HANOI, June 20. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has called Vietnam one of Russia's most reliable partners, relations with which have come a long way and withstood many tests with honor.

"It is a pleasure to be in hospitable Vietnam, on the hospitable soil of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. One of our long-standing and reliable friends and partners. Russian-Vietnamese relations of trust and mutual understanding have come a long way and withstood the trials of war with honor," he said at a meeting with Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

Putin noted that the Soviet Union had provided effective assistance in the heroic struggle of the Vietnamese people against the French and US invaders and later contributed to the postwar reconstruction of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

"It is important that Vietnam also remembers this and cherishes the memory," the Russian leader stated.