Russia – Mongolia: Certain Strategic Agreements Reached

After a lengthy face-to-face conversation, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh joined their “extended” delegations to take part in talks at the State Palace in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar. “The bonds of our brotherhood, forged during the battles on Khalkhin Gol in 1932-1939, are still a reliable basis for friendship, cooperation, and good-neighborliness between Russia and Mongolia today. This heritage should be passed on to future generations,” Putin said, opening talks between the government delegations.

For his part, the Mongolian president expressed gratitude for the visit of his Russian counterpart, adding that today’s meeting “will undoubtedly give an additional impetus” to the development of political, economic, trade, and cultural relations between the two states. “It is gratifying to note that relations between our two countries and our two peoples are traditionally friendly and have reached the level of comprehensive strategic partnership,” emphasized Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh.

As RIA Novosti wrote, the Russian delegation includes Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev, Transport Minister Roman Starovoit, Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev, Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Fomin, and other senior officials. Putin, who will later travel to Vladivostok to attend the 9th Eastern Economic Forum, is accompanied by some top executives of Russian companies, including Igor Sechin, president of state oil company Rosneft, and Alexei Likhachev, president of nuclear power agency Rosatom.

On the sidelines of the talks, Likhachev said that Russia and Mongolia have practically agreed on all technical aspects of the project to build a small nuclear power plant in Mongolia. Likhachev recalled that the mini-NPP project near the town of Harhorin was agreed upon on the margins of the AtomExpo International Atomic Energy Forum in Sochi in March. “During intensive negotiations with the heads of the Mongolian energy company Mon-Atom, the Ministry of Energy, and the Mongolian Security Council, we have practically agreed on all the technical details of the project,” Likhachev said.

The Strategic Partnership Agreement between Russia and Mongolia also provides for the intensification of military-technical cooperation between the two countries. “Moscow is engaged in supplying arms to Ulaanbaatar and training military personnel,” Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin told reporters after the talks, saying “joint work also includes repair, maintenance, and modernization of combat arms and equipment.” Fomin concluded by noting that this year 340 Mongolian soldiers have taken special training courses organized by Russians at the Presidential Cadet School in the Siberian city of Kyzyl.