Vietnamese people always remember and are grateful for the greatsacrifices made by millions of former Soviet Union soldiers and peopleduring the anti-fascism struggle 70 years ago, State President TruongTan Sang has stated. The Victory in the GreatPatriotic War (May 9, 1945-2015) encouraged Vietnam and other oppressedcountries worldwide to rise up for their independence and freedom, saidthe Vietnamese leader, who is in Russia for the celebration of the 70 thanniversary of the victory, while speaking to Russia’s major newsagencies. The victory inspired Vietnamese people,under the sound leadership of the late President Ho Chi Minh, to theirown August Revolution victory in 1945, giving birth to the DemocraticRepublic of Vietnam on September 2 the same year, he noted. Heasserted that decisive contributions by former Soviet Union soldiersand people cannot be denied in the victory over fascism. “History must be respected and relayed to next generations honestly,” he said. “Over the past seven decades, historical lessons learnt from theanti-fascism struggle have still maintained their values,” he stressed. These lessons showed the necessity to strengthensolidarity and cooperation in preserving peace and preventing threats ofwar and conflicts, and respect legitimate rights of nations in theworld on the basis of international law and through bilateral andmultilateral affiliation mechanisms, the President noted. The State leader said that as suffering tremendous losses in theresistance wars for national liberation, Vietnamese people comprehendthe value of peace and are ready to work with the peace-loving communityin the world to maintain and promote the values brought by the GreatPatriotic War Victory. Vietnamese people always bearin their mind the priceless support of the Soviet Union during thestruggle for independence, he said, adding that attention has been givento educating the youth of the nation’s tradition and the nobleinternational spirit, as well as the close ties between Vietnam andRussia. Currently, Russia is one of the leadingtrade partners of Vietnam, with two-way trade seeing seven-fold rise inthe past decade to 2.76 billion USD, he noted, revealing that both sidesare working hard to raise the figure to 10 billion USD by 2020. Heproposed that the two countries work together for the early signing of afree trade agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Unionwithin 2015 as it would create a springboard for increased bilateraltrade. At the same time, both sides should facilitate marketaccess for their products, while supporting the establishment ofproduct-advertising centres, he suggest, adding that Vietnam and Russiashould also back enterprises’ connection and partnership. Regarding the East Sea issue, the State leader said Vietnam attachesmuch importance to the maintenance of peace, stability and maritime andaviation security, safety and freedom in the East Sea, settling disputeson the basis of international law, especially the 1982 United NationsConvention on the Law of the Sea, and the Declaration on the Conducts ofParties in the East Sea. All parties shouldpractice restraint and avoid actions escalating tension in the region,including using forces to unilaterally change the status quo there, hesaid, stressing the necessity to build a Code of Conduct in the East Seasoon. He also expressed his hope that Russia willmaintain and expand cooperation in joint oil and gas projects withVietnam in its economic exclusive zone and continental shelf.-VNA