A new robe is better, but an old friend is priceless

foto

Vladimir Putin and President of Mongolia Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh

Obvious and hidden results of the Russian President’s visit to Mongolia, during which he recalled an old Mongolian proverb about friendship

Last week, Vladimir Putin paid an official visit to Ulaanbaatar.

There, he and his counterpart, Mongolian President Ukhnaagiinu Khürelsükh, discussed the further development of a comprehensive strategic partnership, as well as current international and regional issues. Vladimir Putin had previously visited Mongolia in 2014 and 2019, both visits coinciding with the anniversaries of the victory over the Japanese at Khalkhin Gol — dates revered by Mongolians. A similar occasion, the 85th anniversary of this event, was also officially commemorated by the two leaders this time. This was the second face-to-face meeting between the two presidents this year. Two months ago, they held talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. The main topics of the talks in Ulaanbaatar, however, were economic and energy cooperation, including the development of a project for a major gas pipeline from Russia to China through Mongolia.

The frequency of high-level contacts with Mongolia indicates that Russia attaches great importance to them. This was directly confirmed by the Russian President during the talks. «It is important that our bilateral partnership is moving forward at a good pace in all key areas. Political contacts, cooperation in defense and security, parliamentary and party exchanges, humanitarian exchanges, cross-border and interregional relations are all developing successfully», Vladimir Putin said. In particular, he noted that in recent years a number of new promising projects in the economic and industrial spheres have been explored, including the modernization and improvement of the efficiency of the Ulaanbaatar railway, the participation of Rosneft Corporation in the fuel complex of the new Chinggis Khaan International Airport, the reconstruction of the Ulaanbaatar Thermal Power Station-3, and the construction of the Trans-Mongolian gas pipeline from Russia to China, named «Soyuz Vostok». Agreements and arrangements on all these issues were the result of this visit.

It seems that President Khürelsükh will soon be among the foreign leaders visiting Russia. He has received an invitation to the BRICS summit in Kazan in October 2024 and to the 80th anniversary of the Victory in World War Two celebrations in Moscow next May.

However, there is much that lies beneath the surface. The Russian side, to put it mildly, did not emphasize the issue of the International Criminal Court’s warrant for the arrest of the Russian President. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that this was allegedly not discussed at all with Mongolian colleagues during the preparation of the visit. The Russian minister commented that the matter was nonsense. Nevertheless, as we recall, Putin did not attend the BRICS summit in South Africa last year, presumably because of the risk of diplomatic complications over this issue, as South Africa had signed the Rome Statute and could not guarantee his safety.

But Mongolia gave such guarantees, even though it was one of the first countries to sign and ratify the Rome Statute of the ICC in 2002. In fact, our opponents waged a media campaign demanding that Ulaanbaatar act in accordance with the arrest warrant. According to Western agencies, they even pressured the Mongolian leadership, offering both threats and incentives. But in the end, it was the Red Army, not the U.S., that helped the Mongolians repel the Japanese. And later, Mongolia helped the Soviet Union during World War II. This has not been forgotten, at least by Mongolians. «Today, Russia and Mongolia are building on the invaluable traditions of friendship, good neighborliness and mutual assistance», Putin said.

Thus, Mongolia rejected Western incentives and did not fear threats. As our news agencies assure, this greatly displeased both Ukraine and the West, although these disappointments seem somewhat exaggerated. Nevertheless, Mongolia became the first country participating in the ICC agreement that the Russian President visited after the infamous arrest warrant was issued. This once again demonstrated not only the futility of attempts to isolate Russia, but also the West’s lack of leverage over countries that seek to pursue sovereign policies. So as not to damage relations with the Mongolians, the U.S. State Department declared that it understood Mongolia’s «difficult situation and will continue to support it».

It should not be assumed that Mongolia is «in Russian pocket». All of this, of course, is the result of agreements and some bargaining. Recently, it has become fashionable to pursue a so-called «multi-vector» policy, which means «trying to benefit from several sides at once», or, more diplomatically, pursuing national interests and «maintaining a balance of relations with various centers of power». Mongolian friends are doing the same, happily interacting with the U.S., the EU, and China. This year alone, the President of Mongolia has met with the leaders of France, Switzerland, Germany, Slovenia, the U.S. Secretary of State, and the British Foreign Secretary. And they certainly discussed something.

But as we can see, so far the balance is in our favor. The Mongolians are said to explain this by the fact that they are too dependent on their neighbors for energy. One can assume that Beijing also appreciated the «criminal-legal» aspect of Vladimir Putin’s visit to «Outer» Mongolia, as opposed to Inner Mongolia, which is part of China.

The Chinese aspect of the visit is also reflected in other issues. In the midst of protracted negotiations with the Chinese on the «Power of Siberia-2» gas pipeline, the Russian leader said in Ulaanbaatar: «By the way, if at first our Mongolian partners wanted to limit themselves to a transit role, now the possibility of using part of the cheap pipeline gas for the development of your economy and infrastructure is being considered. Our Chinese partners do not particularly like the fact that this pipeline will pass through Mongolia. Of course, the emergence of a transit country means that they would also have to negotiate with it, and transit costs money. However, Russia has an additional strong argument here: our Mongolian friends also need Russian gas. And if there are any objections, let’s negotiate direct deliveries, but at a fair price… In any case, in Mongolia, the project documentation for the «Soyuz Vostok» gas pipeline, which will stretch almost 1,000 kilometers and connect Russia, Mongolia and China, has been completed».