Vietnam welcomes efforts by U.S. to end its weapons embargo

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) meets with Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh at the Lake Garden hotel outside the venue of the 47th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Naypyidaw, August 9, 2014. REUTERS/Nicolas Asfouri/Pool

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Vietnam would welcome an end to the arms embargo clamped on it by the United States, the country's foreign minister said on Wednesday, as he played down the notion that the move would inflame Hanoi's maritime dispute with China.

Pham Binh Minh, who also serves as Vietnam's deputy prime minister, was responding to a Reuters report on Tuesday that said Washington was moving closer to lifting the embargo to help Vietnam deal with growing naval challenges from China.