Hanoi (VNA) ♕– The Embassy of Vietnam in Ukraine is working intensively with authorised agencies of the host country to ensure the legitimate rights of Vietnamese citizens in Lang Sen, a Vietnamese quarter in Odessa city, are being protected, stated Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Le Hai Binh. 

Speaking at a regular press conference in Hanoi on June 2, Binh said all seized assets and money, if proved to be the legitimate property of the Vietnamese citizens, will also be reclaimed.  On May 23, Ukrainian authorities conducted an unwarranted raid against Vietnamese citizens and confiscated their property, in the village on Grushevskogo street .  Vietnamese expatriates, who live in the village, confirmed that tax staff took at least 500,000 USD and other valuables.  Vice Governor of Odessa Salomia Bobrovskaya has since apologised to the Vietnamese community in the city for the unwarranted raids.  Later at the press conference, the spokesperson also commented on the appointment of Bob Kerrey, a US veteran of the war in Vietnam, as chairman of Fulbright University Vietnam’s Board of Trustees.  “The pains and losses that Vietnamese people suffered during the war are significant and irreparable. Both the Vietnamese and US Governments have made tireless efforts to deal with the aftermath of the war,” he said.  “With a peace-loving tradition, and in the spirit of putting aside the past, overcoming differences and promoting similarities towards the future, we are working hard to cooperate and strengthen our mutual understanding to promote Vietnam-US ties,” he emphasised.  He noted that many US veterans who joined the war in Vietnam have worked in various fields such as diplomacy, and culture and education, and have contributed to surmounting the consequences of war, improving diplomatic relations between the two countries and healing the pain of war.  “We believe that the US side as well as the leaders of Fulbright University will make reasonable decisions, suitable to the relationship between Vietnam and the US, practically benefiting both peoples,” he concluded.-VNA