MOSCOW, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam won't grant Russia exclusive use of a former Soviet Union naval base on its soil, President Truong Tan Sang said Friday.

Vietnam is the sole owner of the Cam Ranh Bay port and will "cooperate with any country" in using the facility for military purposes, Sang told reporters after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

The base will be open to ships from all countries but Russia would be given preferences "as a strategic partner," Sang said.

"Russia and us have been connected by the long-time cooperation and strategic partnership. This partnership will be developing in future. So we will give Russia preferences in Cam Ranh Bay, including for development of military cooperation," Sang said.

Moscow and Hanoi in 1979 signed an agreement granting free use of the Cam Ranh Bay port to Russian ships for 25 years. The base has become the largest Russian facility abroad.

In 2002, two years before the agreement expired, Vietnam proposed a 300-million-U.S. dollar payment as the annual lease for the base. Russia refused to extend the agreement and withdrew its servicemen from the base.