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IPFS News Link • Obama Administration

Vietnam Arms Embargo to Be Fully Lifted, Obama Says in Hanoi

• http://www.nytimes.com, By GARDINER HARRIS

The United States has long made lifting the embargo contingent on Vietnam's improving its human rights record, and recently administration officials had hinted that the ban could be removed partly in response to China's buildup in the South China Sea.

But Mr. Obama portrayed the decision as part of the long process of normalizing relations between the two countries after the Vietnam War.

"The decision to lift the ban was not based on China or any other considerations," he said, with the Vietnamese president, Tran Dai Quang, standing stiffly by his side. "It was based on our desire to complete what has been a lengthy process of moving toward normalization with Vietnam."

Mr. Obama insisted that the move should not be interpreted as carte blanche for weapons sales to Vietnam and that the United States would review future arms sales to "examine what's appropriate and what's not," as it does with any country.


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