Vietnam says it feels 'great pity' over German kidnapping accusation

 

HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam's foreign ministry on Thursday expressed "great pity" over a Germany statement accusing Vietnam of kidnapping a former oil executive, and said Hanoi wants to develop a "strategic relationship" with Germany.

 

Germany's foreign ministry on Wednesday accused Vietnam of kidnapping Trinh Xuan Thanh, a former executive at state oil company PetroVietnam, who faces charges of financial mismanagement in Vietnam.

 

Police in Vietnam on Monday said Thanh had turned himself in that day after a 10-month international manhunt.

 

"I feel great pity about the statement on August 2 of the German foreign ministry spokesperson," Vietnamese foreign ministry's spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang told reporters in Hanoi.

 

"Vietnam very much respects and wants to develop the strategic partnership relation between Vietnam and Germany," she added.

 

(Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Writing by My Pham; Editing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Richard Borsuk)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-8-3

Now THAT'S the way to go about bringing back your ne'er-do-wells eh?

 

No rubbish about with the Vietnamese police waiting for 30 pages of extradition paperwork to be translated before asking for a warrant or being unable to file them because they don't know where he is.