"Let the West think where it will end up later,” Putin reiterated.

"Then two [Vietnamese] divisions came out and shot down three American jets. That shocked the Americans. They stopped flying over North Vietnam for two weeks," Kolesnik said.

"We had an understandable, very friendly relationship, they treated us like students treat their teachers." Kolesnik noted. "They said, 'You teach us how to fight, and we will learn from you how to win'."

"It was effective both materially and militarily. There was the necessary amount of modern equipment that gave the Americans a kick in the teeth," he stressed.

“Both Vietnam and Russia acknowledge their highly successful cooperation in the oil and gas sector, namely through the Vietsovpetro and Rusvietpetro joint ventures. President Putin’s visit may further extend these cooperation programs, given their ongoing success and significant revenue generation for both nations,” Pham Vu Thieu Quang, editor and geopolitical research specialist at VietNamNet Newspaper, tells Sputnik.

“We saw this with the announcement of [Russian oil and gas firm] Zarubezhneft [in drilling] for Block 11-2 offshore development today,” Quang notes.

“A week ago, Thailand handed over to the BRICS chairmanship, which is held by Russia this year, an official letter of our country's intention to join BRICS as a full member,” Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman and head of information Nikondet Phalangkun told reporters at a briefing in Bangkok.

“We want to join BRICS not to join an alliance against anyone, but to enhance Thailand's international role and become part of an association of developing and developed countries that plays a crucial role in setting the agenda and choosing the direction for the future development of humanity, and is on the path to achieve inclusiveness, equality and justice in world development,” he said.