Russia and Mongolia agree to modernize Ulaanbaatar thermal power plant

ISTANBUL

Russia and Mongolia signed an agreement on Tuesday to develop a basic project for the reconstruction of Ulan Bator Thermal Power Plant No. 3 (TPP-3), while President Vladimir Putin began an official visit to the neighboring country despite an international arrest warrant.

The agreement was signed along with four other documents at a ceremony in the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator. The ceremony was also attended by Putin and his counterpart Uchnaagiin Churelsukh, following talks in a narrow and expanded format.

Later, Putin said at a press conference that Russian energy company Inter RAO would participate in the modernization and reconstruction of the power plant. It would also help install new equipment and triple the power generation capacity of the plant.

He said that such work on the plant would “improve the reliability of supplying light and heat to the residents of the Mongolian capital.” Moscow is also open to the implementation of joint projects in the field of nuclear energy.

Putin said Moscow was supplying Mongolia with “the energy resources it needs,” suggesting that 90 percent of the gasoline and diesel fuel that entered the country last year came from Russia itself.

“We see good prospects for cooperation in the gas sector. The design documentation for the almost 1,000-kilometer-long Soyuz Vostok gas pipeline, which will connect Russia, Mongolia and China, has been completed,” he added.

“This is not only about the transit of Russian gas through Mongolia. The possibility of supplying Mongolian consumers with this fuel is also being considered. Gazprom is ready to provide the necessary support in practical issues of gas supply to the country.”

Putin said Russian-Mongolian relations were developing in light of the comprehensive strategic partnership agreement signed in 2019.

He said they paid special attention to increasing mutually beneficial trade and investment, and bilateral trade turnover increased by over 21% in the first seven months of 2024.

“In addition, trade transactions between our two countries are conducted almost exclusively in currencies other than the dollar and the euro,” Putin said, adding that close contacts between Mongolia and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) would contribute to further growth.

Khurelsukh, for his part, said that an agreement had been reached on a free trade agreement between Mongolia and the EAEU, which would “improve the regulatory environment for bilateral trade and create concrete new opportunities for expanding economic cooperation.”

He said Mongolia supports the development and expansion of cooperation with Russia “within the framework of its peaceful, independent, open and multi-vector foreign policy.”

Putin arrived in Ulan Bator late Monday to mark the 85th anniversary of Russia and Mongolia's joint victory over Japan during the Battle of Khalkhin Gol in World War II.

This is Putin's first visit to a country that is a member of the International Criminal Court since the tribunal issued an arrest warrant for him in March 2023.

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