Vietnam welcomes Cuba's Castro

Vietnam welcomes Cuba's Castro

Castro's ties to Vietnam go back to the war years

Cuban President Fidel Castro has received a warm welcome in Vietnam where he is meeting communist leaders and war veterans.

General Vo Nguyen Giap - the mastermind of Vietnam's guerrilla warfare against France and the US - embraced Mr Castro in front of the cameras before the two held private talks in the capital, Hanoi.

Earlier, the Cuban president met Vietnam's leadership troika for talks in which the communist allies stated their opposition to any US-led war against Iraq.

After his three-day visit to Vietnam, Mr Castro is travelling to Malaysia to attend the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit, which is also expected to be dominated by the crisis in Iraq.

Anti-war statement

As President Castro's convoy of limousines took him to the presidential palace in Hanoi, hundreds of war veterans holding Vietnamese and Cuban flags waited to greet him.

War veterans were out on the streets to greet their long-time ally

The 76-year-old president was met by a guard of honour and a trumpet fanfare before a band played the national anthems of both countries.

Fidel Castro walked down a red carpet with the Communist Party leader, Nong Duc Manh, and then embraced President Tran Duc Luong and Prime Minister Phan Van Khai.

"In their talks which lasted 45 minutes, the two sides exchanged views on US plans to attack Iraq and they agreed to issue a declaration stating their opposition," an official told the French news agency AFP.

Staunch ally

Mr Castro then went on to General Giap's French colonial compound, where the two met for 45 minutes.

"It was very good to see my old friend," the 91-year-old war hero told reporters afterwards.

"He is the person who brings the people of Cuba to victory and he will bring Cuban people to more victory. He is Vietnam's friend."

Mr Castro first visited Vietnam in 1973, two years before the end of the war - he was a staunch ally of the communists fighting the US.

He last visited the country in 1995 when he toured the Cu Chi tunnel network where Vietnamese soldiers hid from US troops during the war.

This time, President Castro is expected to visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum to pay his respects to Vietnam's independence hero and Communist Party founder.