 The President of Mongolia Tsakhia Elbegdorj is currently in Russia for an official visit. He arrived in Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow on May 30th.
The first place to visit by Mongolian president was Russian news agency of Itar-Tass, where he had a banquet with representatives of Russia’s leading news agencies, televisions, radios, newspapers and magazines, including “ITAR-TASS”, “VGTRK”, Channel 1, NTV, TV-Center, Russia Today, Interfax, Izvestya, Ria Novosty, Russian Voice and many others.
During the banquet, President Elbegodorj answered questions put by Russia’s top media and press managers on bilateral cooperation in trade, agriculture, on Mongolia’s education and history, as well on biography of the president.
Afterwards, President Elbegdorj visited Lomonosov Moscow State University and gave a lecture on global climate change to professors and students. He shares views about what can be done to reduce negative impacts caused by global warming. He talked about how nomadic lifestyle of Mongolians preserved mother-nature. On the sidelines of Mongolian president’s visit, a Mongolia-Russia Business Forum took place at the International Trade Center in Moscow. More than eighty representatives, including government officials, businessmen and press, attended the forum. Main speech deliveries were by Russian and Mongolian commerce chambers’ officials, Mongolian minister and ministry officials, as well as Russian business delegates. Visiting President Elbegdorj addressed the forum. In his speech, he stressed that we, the Mongolians, make only one choice in our hard times and this is our northern neighbor. “Mongolia confirmed its commitment to continue strategic partnership with Russia as it chose broad-gauge as the country’s key rail line, but we need to revise the 1949 railroad agreement because Mongolia wants a railway that meets modern requirements. Currently, Mongolia has one railroad and it is 50 percent owned by “Russian railways,” the Russian state railroad company. Rest of the Ulanbator Railway is owned by Mongolian government. The railroad agreement was never revised since it was signed in 1949. Since 1990s, Mongolian side repeatedly expressed interest to change the ownership ratio of the railway. However, Russia never backed from 50 percent ownership of the railway. He argued the necessities of boosting the ties in infrastructure, financing and agriculture and minimizing mutual trade turnover difference which is US$40 million against $1 billion in favor of Russia. “We want a bureaucracy-free customs and we are eager to be accountable and reliable partners with Russia” he underlined. Another issue Elbegdorj emphasized in his speech was Mongolia’s interest in ambitious infrastructure projects in the region. He stated Mongolia wants Russia’s energy and natural gas lines pass through the territory of Mongolia. On May 31st, Mongolian President Elbegdorj and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev held a tete-a-tete at the Kremlin. The two officials discussed all of major problematic issues concerning the cooperation between the two countries. Both sides are to blame for trade problems, Dmitry Medvedev said. “We would like goods, and not only raw materials, to be imported and exported,” he said. “ For example, we would want Mongolia to buy our equipment. For that locomotives – major projects, are needed,” he said. Cooperation on the Ulaanbaatar Railway is among such projects, Medvedev noted. According to Medvedev, Russia is ready supply hardware to its neighbour as soon as possible, to help it “operating better”. A Russia’s Kommersant newspaper evaluated in its op-ed the development of relations between Russia and Mongolia in general. It said after disintegration of the Soviet Union and the start of democratic transformations in Mongolia, its attitude to Russia has become ambiguous. Trying to change the situation, which used to be in Moscow’s favour, “new democrats” expected that support of the West would help the country make a leap into a post-industrial society. However, nowadays the situation in relations between the two countries is radically changing once again, the Kommersant says. A new geopolitical reality – swiftly expanding its influence China, makes Mongolia once again turn its face to Russia. These days it is important as never before for that country, squeezed between the Russian and Chinese borders, to find its neighbours’ balance of interests. That is why Mongolia is extremely interested in seeing that Russia and its business form a counterbalance to the influence of a powerful southern neighbor, according to the Russian newspaper. The Kremlin meeting as well talks with participation of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that followed it, have not cleared up the fate of the Russian bid to participate in the exploration of Tavan Tolgoi. A source close to negotiations said Elbegdorj gave no clear answer on Tuesday as to prospects of the Russian Railways Company to get access to the deposit. The presidents of Mongolia and Russia signed a joint statement on the result of their meeting, vowing to further promote ties between the two countries. Medvedev said he believes the Russian-Mongolian trade volume should not only rely on petroleum products, calling on diversification of bilateral trade. “We are interested in trade turnover diversification. We need new powerful projects such as nuclear projects or Tavan-Tolgoi (coal deposit), which will promote bilateral cooperation,” Medvedev said. The two sides also discussed progresses of several joint projects. After the meeting, the presidents also attended signing ceremony of other four documents on bilateral cooperation and ties.
The documents signed on March 31 at the Kremlin include intergovernmental agreements on the protection of intellectual property obtained in the course of bilateral military and technical cooperation, and on the creation of the Uvs Lake Hollow Biosphere Reserve, a memorandum on research cooperation between the Russian and Mongolian Academies of Medical Sciences, and a protocol on amendments to the agreement of June 6, 1949 between the governments of the USSR and Mongolia on the establishment of the Ulaanbaatar Railway Soviet-Mongolian joint-stock company. The agreement on the trans-border Uvs Lake Hollow Biosphere Reserve is geared to “preserve biological and nature diversity,” Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology Yuri Trutnev said after the signing. Russia and Mongolia also signed an agreement to boost the capital of their 50-50 joint venture, Ulaanbaatar Railways, by $250 million. Talks to increase Mongolia’s share to 51 percent will continue, a source said. Mongolian President Elbegdorj appealed to the government of Russia to resolve the problem with petroleum products supplies, when he met with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. “There have been failures in delivery in recent months, we have serious problems: now sowing has been delayed, production has become suspended and public transportion in cities has almost stopped,” Elbegdorj said. Elbegdorj reported that the Mongolian energy minister will arrive in Moscow to hold talks with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin. “Probably once they meet, the issue will be solved,” Elbegdorj said. Faced by fuel shortage of its own, Russia, the world’s largest oil producer, raised the fuel export tax by 44% this month. Putin has criticized Russia’s oil groups, saying there was no lack of oil but that companies had restricted supplies to keep prices high. Putin pledged to pay a special attention towards petroleum supply to Mongolia. | 
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