All the energy interests of China and Russia in Mongolia
The article by Giuseppe Gagliano
One of the key men in the bilateral relationship for Russia and Mongolia is former Mongolian foreign minister Damdin Tsogtbaatar, who in addition to holding prestigious political roles within the Mongolian government – as can be seen from the biography indicated here -, he was CEO of Xillion as well as of JusTs Consulting.
The interests that Russia – but also China – have are naturally interests linked to raw materials to rare earths: from gas to oil. Specifically, the former Mongolian Foreign Minister was a key man in protecting Mongolian interests and in completing the Soyuz Vostok pipeline project . Which will serve to limit and contain the effect of European sanctions following the Russia-Ukraine war.
To understand the importance of what we are talking about we need to take a step back.
In March 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin met Alexey Miller, chairman of Gazprom's management committee, proceeding to the pre-investment phase in the Power of Siberia 2 project involving Russia, Mongolia and China. This mega-project will in fact be a turning point in the supply of gas to Northeast Asia, with the construction of “1,942 kilometers of trunk gas lines with 114 wells”. While Russia's energy pivot to Asia includes Mongolia, the government of Mongolia has been proactive in this quest and sealed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in 2019.
The good relations between Russia and China not only entail securing energy in Northeast Asia, but also opening up opportunities for Mongolia to join the energy club. Considering that both Russia and China are already strategic partners of Mongolia, the Mongolian government is in an ideal position to pursue a proactive energy policy.
Mongolian Foreign Minister Tsogtbaatar Damdin was able to state that it had taken 30 years for Mongolia to be at the negotiating table on this issue. Mutual trust and the continuation of open dialogue and exchange of ideas between all three sides – Mongolia, Russia and China – are crucial at this point.
Mongolia's participation in the Power of Siberia 2 project will make Mongolia a transit country in the Russia-China gas supply chain in Northeast Asia. Mongolia's foreign policy towards both Russia and China, bound by strategic partnerships, has proved useful. Some security analysts point to Mongolia's growing dependence on neighbors for fuel and energy as a threat to national security as Russia supplies 92% of Mongolia's demand.
Another key man who has allowed the strengthening of these synergies is certainly Nikolai Patrushev, Putin's security adviser who, not surprisingly, went to Mongolia last year to meet his counterpart Zhadambyn Enkhbayar.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/cina-russia-mongolia/ on Fri, 04 Mar 2022 14:47:25 +0000.