HANOI - Vietnam said on Thursday it had held frank and constructive talks on human rights with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Lorne Craner.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Phan Thuy Thanh said the meeting in Hanoi on Wednesday between Vietnamese Foreign Ministry officials and Craner was useful and had enhanced understanding.
"The two sides exchanged views on issues of mutual concern in the field of human rights," Thanh told a news conference. "The meeting was conducted in a frank and constructive manner."
Ties between the United States and Vietnam have warmed steadily since the former battlefield foes established diplomatic ties in 1995, but human rights remain a divisive issue.
Vietnam has in the past rejected U.S. moves to promote human rights in Vietnam as interference in its internal affairs.
Thanh said Craner and his Vietnamese counterparts had exchanged views "on some specific issues." She declined to elaborate and no further details of the meeting have emerged.
Last week a senior State Department official said Craner, in charge of democracy, human rights and labour, would try to encourage Vietnam to release some detained religious figures.
06:12 08-02-01
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