(Bloomberg) -- Russia and Mongolia agreed to strengthen economic ties at the end of a controversial visit by President Vladimir Putin in defiance of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
Putin held talks with Mongolian President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa in Ulaanbaatar on Tuesday, where the two sides oversaw the signing of cooperation agreements covering energy, trade and transport as well as projects to expand an economic corridor between Russia, Mongolia and China.
“Mongolia stands for the development and expansion of cooperation with its eternal neighbor, the Russian Federation,” Khurelsukh said during statements to the media after the talks. Putin’s visit “is of great importance for enriching friendly relations,” he said.
Mongolia rolled out the red carpet for Putin even as it faced international criticism for failing to meet its obligation as an ICC member state to enforce the warrant. Putin’s visit to the country sandwiched between Russia and China was his first to an ICC member state since the court last year called for his arrest over the alleged abduction of children from occupied areas of Ukraine.
The trip was formally linked to the 85th anniversary commemorations of the 1939 Soviet and Mongolian battles at Khalkh Gol against Japanese forces. While ties have long been close, they’ve gained an added importance as Moscow grows increasingly dependent on China for trade in the face of sanctions imposed by the US and its allies over Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
“Much attention was paid to the expansion of mutually beneficial trade and investment,” Putin said in his statement after the meeting. Modernization of the Ulaanbaatar Railway would “make it possible to increase the volume of cargo transportation, both bilateral and transit, between Russia and China,” he said.
Russian trade with Mongolia was up more than 21% in the first seven months of this year, with settlements conducted “almost entirely” in currencies other than the dollar and the euro, Putin said.
Russia aims to build a new gas pipeline, Power of Siberia 2, via Mongolia to China, though the project has slowed as talks continue between the energy giant Gazprom and Beijing on a supply contract.
“This is not just about transiting Russian gas through Mongolia,” Putin said in his statement. “The possibility of supplying this fuel to Mongolian consumers is also being considered,” and Russia’s Gazprom is ready to help support gasification of the country, he said.
The two sides plan to “intensify” projects aimed at boosting trade and cooperation through the Mongolia-Russia-China Economic Corridor, Khurelsukh said. Mongolia also expected a boost to agricultural exports in particular when a free trade agreement is reached with the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union this year, he said.
Mongolia said they agreed upon the “smooth and stable supply” of oil products from Russia, which provides 95% of the East Asian nation’s oil imports. They also drew up plans to expand and renovate an aging Soviet-era thermal power plant that provides a third of the capital’s heat supply.
Police detained six people when a group of protesters with a Ukrainian flag tried to gather at the square during Putin’s arrival, local news website ikon.mn reported.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Mongolia should “execute the binding international arrest warrant.” A spokesman for the ICC said before Putin arrived that member states “have the obligation to cooperate” with its decisions and a failure to do so may be referred to the court’s oversight and legislative body.
Putin received assurances ahead of the trip to Mongolia that he won’t be arrested, according to two people familiar with the Kremlin’s preparations for his travels.
He hasn’t risked similar travel before. He skipped last year’s summit in South Africa of leaders from the BRICS grouping after the host made clear it would have to comply with the ICC warrant as a member state.
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