Key events:

• Russian and U.S. Presidents Extend Congratulations to General Secretary To Lam on His Recent Accession
• Vietnamese Navy Vessel Arrives in China as Tensions Rise in South China Sea

Russian and U.S. Presidents Extend Congratulations to General Secretary To Lam on His Recent Accession

General Secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party To Lam had a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Aug. 8. In the call, Putin congratulated To Lam, a police general, on his recent election to the party chairmanship and extended an invitation for him to visit Russia in the future. To Lam was the first high-profile politician to greet Vladimir Putin and the Russian delegation when they officially visited Vietnam in June. 

State media said the Russian leader appreciated To Lam and other Vietnamese leaders during the state visit. General Secretary and President To Lam reaffirmed Hanoi’s policy of non-alignment, self-reliance, and diversification of diplomatic ties. The general secretary added that Vietnam has always viewed its relationship with Moscow as strategic and one of its top foreign policy priorities.