Russia unfazed as US lifts ban on arms sales to Vietnam

Moscow: The lifting of a decades-old US arms embargo on Vietnam will not affect Russia's weapons sales to the southeast Asian country, an official said on Monday.

"Our relations with Vietnam are of a strategic nature, and their further development will depend on the Vietnamese leadership," Xinhua quoted a Russian military official as saying. 

The lifting of the embargo will not affect the export of Russian weapons, the official added.

During his ongoing three-day visit to Vietnam, US President Barack Obama announced on Monday Washington's decision to completely remove its ban on sales of lethal weapons to Hanoi, one of the last major vestiges of the Vietnam War era.

Vietnam is one of the largest buyers of Russian weapons, and imports a broad range of Russian armaments ranging from submarines and frigates to multi-functional warplanes.