At the moment, Russia and Mongolia additional develop the invaluable traditions of friendship, good neighborliness and mutual help, says President Vladimir Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin lately gave a written interview to Mongolian newspaper ‘Onoodor’. Right here is the total interview:

Query: Throughout your go to to Mongolia on the event of the 80^th anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, you highlighted the lengthy historical past of mutually useful relations and friendship between our nations and signed a Treaty on Complete Strategic Partnership. What’s your evaluation of the treaty implementation? Have there been any modifications in the relationship between our nations over the previous two years?

President Vladimir Putin: Shortly earlier than my subsequent go to to pleasant Mongolia, I want to share my imaginative and prescient of the historical past, present state and the way forward for bilateral relations on the pages of your authoritative newspaper.

I want to level out from the outset that the improvement of complete and mutually useful partnership with Mongolia, our shut neighbor and outdated buddy, has all the time been and stays among the many priorities of Russia’s overseas coverage in Eurasia.

Our states and peoples are linked by a long time of fruitful cooperation in practically all areas. I want to remind that our nation was the primary on this planet to acknowledge Mongolia’s independence in 1921 and for a very long time remained the one guarantor of its sovereignty and safety. Through the summer time of 1939 – a essential interval for Mongolia – the USSR, which remained dedicated to its obligation as an ally beneath the Protocol on Mutual Help of March 12, 1936, instantly responded to the Mongolian authorities’s request for help in repelling the Japanese aggression within the battles on the river Khalkin Gol. Over 10,000 Purple Military troopers and commanders sacrificed their lives in that battle for Mongolia’s freedom and independence. I want to take this chance to commend the noble and selfless labor of Russian and Mongolian volunteers who proceed their work as we speak to determine and bury the stays of the fallen heroes.

Symbolically, the new interstate treaty, which formalized our bilateral relations as these of complete strategic partnership, was signed on September 3, 2019, in Ulaanbaatar on the sidelines of the occasions marking the 80^th anniversary of our joint victory over the Japanese militarists at Khalkhin Gol. I am planning to participate in the upcoming anniversary celebrations in your capital lately.

Our wealthy and multifaceted widespread historical past is mirrored in different landmark dates that we have a good time this 12 months: the 75^th anniversary of the flagship undertaking of our financial cooperation, the Ulaanbaatar Railway, the 65^th anniversary because the starting of the improvement of virgin lands in Mongolia involving Soviet specialists, and the 50^th anniversary of the founding of the metropolis of Erdenet.

Of course, the Russian individuals bear in mind with gratitude the assist Mongolia supplied us through the Nice Patriotic Battle and commemorates joint battles to defeat the Kwantung Military in the summer time of 1945.

At the moment, Russia and Mongolia additional develop the invaluable traditions of friendship, good neighborliness and mutual help. For occasion, this 12 months alone, Russia has provided over 8,500 tons of grain forage to Mongolian livestock farms affected by extreme colds and snowfalls, and the Mongolian Authorities has allotted funding to mitigate the aftermath of the floods in the Ural space.

It is necessary that our bilateral partnership in all key areas is progressing at a superb tempo. Political contacts, cooperation within the sphere of protection and safety, interplay between parliaments, events and public organizations, humanitarian exchanges, cross-border and interregional ties are creating efficiently.

In current years, we have now been engaged on a variety of new promising financial and industrial tasks, together with the building of the Trans-Mongolian fuel pipeline connecting Russia and China, works to modernize and enhance the efficiency of the Ulaanbaatar Railway three way partnership, the Rosneft Company’s gas provides for the fueling complicated at the new Chinggis Khaan worldwide airport, and the renovation of TPP-3 in Ulaanbaatar with the participation of INER RAO – Export.

We all the time reply to our Mongolian mates’ requests for help in assembly the rising wants for gas and lubricants at preferential costs. Work is underway to finalize a corresponding intergovernmental settlement.

With Russia’s involvement, in lower than a 12 months, important progress has been made in drafting a momentary free commerce settlement between the Eurasian Financial Union and Mongolia, which makes it doable to enhance the provide of items out of your conventional export record to the markets of Eurasian Financial Union member states.

I will add that we have now all the time paid particular consideration to offering coaching for Mongolian specialists. This 12 months alone, Russia has allotted 620 state-funded locations for Mongolian college students at Russian universities. We all know that the curiosity of the Mongolian youth in Russian training has historically been excessive. It’s definitely necessary that you just love and study the Russian language in Mongolia, and that the system of educating the Russian language has been effectively developed over many a long time. This has supplied and continues to supply nice alternatives for studying, increasing enterprise, scientific and cultural ties with Russia and the CIS nations.

Every little thing I have talked about, together with many different issues, is a part of our joint efforts with our Mongolian mates to implement the provisions of the Treaty on Complete Strategic Partnership. I am satisfied that constructive cooperation between Russia and Mongolia will develop extra substantial and multifaceted and serve for the advantage of our peoples.

Query: Through the Financial Discussion board held in Davos in January 2024, Prime Minister of Mongolia Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrain emphasised the significance of holding a Russia–Mongolia–China trilateral summit. Nevertheless, in July 2024, a trilateral assembly was held at the degree of overseas ministers. Can we count on a trilateral assembly of the heads of state in the close to future?

President Vladimir Putin: Ten years in the past, along with our Chinese language counterparts, we supported the Mongolian initiative to set up a Russia-Mongolia-China trilateral cooperation mechanism. On September 11, 2014, the first such summit was held in Dushanbe on the sidelines of the assembly of the SCO Heads of State Council.

Over the previous years, we have now laid a strong basis to underpin the improvement of complete mutually useful cooperation. In 2015, along with our colleagues, we accepted the related ‘roadmap’ to cowl just about all key areas: politics, the economic system, science and know-how, training and tradition, and overseas coverage points. In 2016, our related nationwide companies signed the China-Mongolia-Russia Financial Hall program, which seeks primarily to maximize the distinctive transit potential of your nation and create the atmosphere to obtain synergy between the Eurasian Financial Union, the Chinese language Belt and Street Initiative, and the Mongolian Steppe Street Initiative.

Following the pressured pause attributable to the coronavirus pandemic, on September 15, 2022, our sixth in-person summit befell in Samarkand. Since then, for technical causes associated to the mismatch of working schedules, we did not maintain one other summit. Nevertheless, we imagine that this mechanism is extremely necessary and related. Russia is definitely excited about pursuing substantive work in this trilateral format.

Query: Will Russia put ahead any proposals or initiatives to make the China-Mongolia-Russia Financial Hall and the Energy of Siberia 2 fuel pipeline undertaking extra useful for Mongolia’s economic system and infrastructure improvement?

President Vladimir Putin: I am satisfied that progress in bilateral, not to mention trilateral, cooperation can solely be achieved whether it is useful to all of the events concerned.

As you understand, the initiative to create the Russia-Mongolia-China Financial Hall was initially put ahead by the management of your nation as a part of the Mongolian Steppe Street Initiative implementation. Among the many achievements, I can confer with the indisputable fact that over the previous ten years, the freight visitors on the Ulaanbaatar Railway elevated by half to attain a report determine 32.4 million tons in 2023. Transit container cargo transportation between Russia and China by the territory of Mongolia has additionally elevated considerably.

Over the current years, all Mongolian presidents, no matter their social gathering affiliation, have raised throughout negotiations the concern of constructing a most important fuel pipeline from Russia to China by Mongolia. In 2021 it was determined to embark on preparatory work. A specialised joint firm, Soyuz Vostok Fuel Pipeline, was established, which is finishing up design and exploration works in line with the accepted schedule. Work continues on the design of the Soyuz Vostok fuel pipeline stretching over 960 kilometers: in January 2022, a feasibility examine for this undertaking was accepted, the needed engineering surveys and research have been carried out, and in late December 2023, the undertaking documentation was finalized.

By the method, whereas initially our Mongolian companions most well-liked to restrict themselves to being only a transit nation, now they’re contemplating utilizing a few of the low cost pipeline fuel to assist the improvement of their economic system and infrastructure.

Query: As a results of constitutional amendments and modifications to the electoral system, members of 4 political events and one coalition have been elected to the present Mongolian Parliament, and the social gathering that gained the majority needed to type a three-party authorities, somewhat than a authorities of its personal. What’s your evaluation of this new web page in Mongolia’s political life?

President Vladimir Putin: First of all, I want to observe that the common elections to the State Nice Khural in June have been held efficiently. The electoral course of was organized at a very excessive degree, as was confirmed, inter alia, by Russian observers despatched to Mongolia.

We respect the selection of the Mongolian individuals. As far as I bear in mind, that is by no means the first time Mongolia has had a coalition authorities. I am assured that the cupboard reshuffle won’t have an effect on our nations’ mutual want to additional develop our complete strategic partnership and develop our bilateral cooperation.

Query: The freedom of press is at the moment of essential concern in our nation. Russia has additionally banned a few of the nation’s media retailers. At the similar time, Western nations have banned mainstream Russian media and restricted entry to them on social media. How, in your opinion, can we strike a steadiness between freedom of the press and nationwide safety?

President Vladimir Putin: Certainly, virtually all Western nations the place our journalists attempt to work, are creating obstacles for them, banning Russian tv channels and instantly censoring our media and on-line assets. Actually, this runs counter to the democratic ideas of freedom of speech and free circulate of data. But all our media do is convey and clarify Russia’s level of view on present urgent points and world processes. As they achieve this, they act in a respectful method and adjust to the norms of morality and ethics as effectively as nationwide laws of every specific nation. So the West, which claims to be a mannequin of freedom, has opted to disguise from inconvenient details and the fact by launching a blatant bullying marketing campaign in opposition to Russian journalists and indiscriminately labelling them as ‘Kremlin propagandists’.

In Russia, the mass media are free. That is solidly assured by our Structure. We’re satisfied that pluralism and openness in the data house are important. Our authorities cooperate constructively with tv channels, information companies, newspapers, on-line media and different media retailers, no matter their editorial coverage. The solely factor they’re required to do is to adjust to Russian legal guidelines. This needs to be understood by overseas journalists accredited in Russia. That’s the approach to strike the needed steadiness between the freedom of press and guaranteeing nationwide safety that you’ve got talked about.

Query: Russian athletes have been banned from collaborating in the 2024 Olympic Video games beneath their nation’s flag, whereas Israel has not been subjected to any restrictions. What do you assume is the motive for such a differentiated strategy?

President Vladimir Putin: The present leaders of the Worldwide Olympic Committee, performing at the behest of the collective West – primarily the United States – are flagrantly flouting the Olympic beliefs they need to be defending. As an alternative of selling the rights of athletes, the integrity and universality of the Olympic motion, they’re clinging to their social place, energy and private prosperity.

Our athletes are excluded from the competitions, our nationwide symbols are banned. It has come to the level the place the phrases ‘Russia’ and ‘Russian’ are fully expunged from worldwide tournaments. All of this blatantly violates the basic ideas of the Olympic Constitution, which states that sport, which ought to carry individuals collectively, and not divide them, shouldn’t be politicized. Till lately, this was cited as the motive why the Olympic Video games needs to be stored open and accessible to all athletes with out exception, no matter their citizenship, race, ethnicity or political opinions.

Russia strongly believes that sport needs to be stored politically impartial and acknowledges that’s has a nice position to play in strengthening people-to-people ties, establishing mutually respectful communication, forging relations between states and peoples in the spirit of peace and good neighborliness, equality and non-discrimination. Due to this fact, we’ll pursue extra democracy in the sports activities motion, attempt to take away synthetic boundaries and restrictions, and develop the vary of nationwide and worldwide sporting occasions.

Query: Your interview to American journalist Tucker Carlson in February this 12 months started with a historic background of Russia and fashionable Ukraine. When speaking about earlier Russian leaders’ choices on Ukraine, you repeatedly stated they can’t be understood. Do you imply that the present state of relations between Russia and Ukraine has been led to by Russia’s errors in home politics as effectively as exterior political strikes?

President Vladimir Putin: The present scenario in Ukraine has been considerably influenced by a complete vary of exterior and inside components. Soviet leaders’ choices on the nationwide and territorial points additionally had their adverse impact.

I want to remind that the technique of the creation of Ukraine began instantly after the 1917 revolution, when unstable and fragile quasi-state formations with out clear borders emerged in that territory. In a while, the boundaries of the constituent USSR republics have been marked somewhat randomly, primarily based on the ‘proletarian necessity.’ Thus, the industrial Donbass populated predominantly by Russians was handed over to Ukraine.

Subsequently, simply earlier than and after the Nice Patriotic Battle, Joseph Stalin gave to Ukraine, as an inalienable a part of the Soviet Union, sure lands that had earlier belonged to Poland, Romania and Hungary. In 1954, Nikita Khrushchev made a beneficiant current to Ukraine by giving it Crimea, which had been a part of the RSFSR.

It needs to be understood that the Soviet leaders acted beneath the geopolitical realities of their time, not anticipating at all that the USSR would stop to exist and break down alongside artificially drawn inside administrative boundaries. So little doubt, the present developments do have historic roots.

At the similar time, the most important motive for as we speak’s tragic scenario in Ukraine is the deliberate anti-Russia coverage pursued by the US-led collective West. For a long time, they’ve sought complete management over Ukraine. They funded nationalist and anti-Russia organizations there; they persistently labored to persuade Ukraine that Russia was its everlasting enemy and the most important menace to its existence. Ukraine just about changed into a bargaining chip that the West used to obtain its geopolitical ambitions.

In 2014, the Individuals and their satellites organized an armed coup d’état in Ukraine. It was impressed and pushed by radical neo-Nazi teams, which subsequently got here to decide Kiev’s authorities coverage in normal. For a few years, tens of millions of civilians in Donbass have needed to survive genocide, shelling and blockade on the a part of the Kiev regime. The hatred for all the pieces Russian has grow to be Ukraine’s official ideology. The use of the Russian language has been more and more restricted, and the canonical Orthodoxy has been subjected to persecution, which now has come to the level of a direct ban.

What we see as we speak is the pure consequence of the harmful technique of the West in direction of Ukraine. On prime of that, Western elites proceed to lend a massive‑scale political, monetary and navy assist to the present regime, concerning it as a weapon in opposition to Russia. We’re effectively conscious of that and will maintain struggling to obtain all of the duties of the particular navy operation in order to make sure the safety of Russia and its residents.

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