MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had arrived for a state visit to Mongolia, which is on the route of a planned new gas pipeline linking Russia and China.
Russia has been in discussions for years about building a pipeline that would transport 50 billion cubic meters (bcm) annually from the Yamal region via Mongolia to China.
The project, Power of Siberia 2, is part of Russia’s strategy to compensate for the loss of most of its gas sales in Europe since the start of the war in Ukraine. It is the planned successor to an existing pipeline of the same name, which already supplies Russian gas to China and will reach its planned capacity of 38 billion cubic meters per year by 2025.
The new venture has been stuck for a long time due to key issues such as gas pricing. However, Putin said on the eve of his visit that preparatory work, including feasibility and technical studies, was going according to plan.
He will hold talks with Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khuresukh on Tuesday.
Ukraine last week urged Mongolia to arrest Putin on an arrest warrant issued last year by the International Criminal Court, when the country accused him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.
The Kremlin has rejected the accusation, saying it is politically motivated, and saying it should not worry about Putin making the trip.
The order obliges the court’s 124 member states, including Mongolia, to arrest Putin and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot on their territory.
Asked whether there had been discussions with Mongolian authorities about the ICC order, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week that “all aspects of the visit were thoroughly discussed.”
