In recent news reports, our country and Russia are negotiating on gas ** for the Siberian-2 pipeline, hoping that Russia will be able to reduce **. However, Mongolia is concerned about the negotiations, as they have not been invited to participate and fear being excluded from energy and transport cooperation. In view of this situation, the Prime Minister of Mongolia called for the convening of a trilateral summit to strengthen cooperation between China, Mongolia and Russia in the field of energy and transportation.
The reason why Mongolia is so worried and concerned about this issue is because the Siberia-2 pipeline mentioned in the news passes through the territory of Mongolia. The total length of the pipeline reaches 6,700 km, of which 960 km is located in Mongolia. Therefore, Mongolia will definitely have a certain influence and benefits on the construction and subsequent operation of the pipeline.
However, Mongolia's concerns are not unfounded. First of all, Mongolia's political situation has been unstable, with internal power struggles and corruption issues that have led to a series of riots. This unstable situation can pose a significant risk to the construction and operation of gas pipelines. In addition, Mongolia has long maintained close relations with the United States, even holding joint military exercises and planning to invite American troops to station. This close relationship with the United States has made Mongolia play a back-and-forth role between China and Russia. This dynamic in Mongolia also increases the uncertainty of our country in gas cooperation with Mongolia.
Due to the above-mentioned factors, China finally refused to sign the contract for natural gas cooperation. Although Russia is very interested in the project, our country is not willing to bear the cost of construction alone, especially given the risks posed by Mongolia's unstable political situation and close relations with the United States. Our refusal to sign is also supported by the majority of the people, because we should be cautious about such an important energy project to ensure national interests and security.
However, Russia's current predicament is significant. As mentioned in the news, the economic situation in Russia is not optimistic, and a lot of money needs to be invested in the war in Ukraine every day. As a result, they are eager to get additional financial support from us to build this important pipeline project. Russia even plans to receive an advance payment of $400 billion from our country for the pre-construction of the pipeline, but the real purpose of this money is still up for debate.
At the same time, since Russia needs financial support, they did not invite Mongolia to participate in the consultations, probably hoping to win the cooperation of our country. However, this made Mongolia uneasy and called for trilateral cooperation between China, Mongolia and Russia.
In terms of advancing the pipeline project, there will be a game between China, Russia and Mongolia. Our country needs to make a wise decision, taking into account its national interests, security and stability, as well as its interests with Mongolia and Russia. It is foreseeable that due to Russia's economic difficulties, it is possible that they will work harder to win the cooperation of our country, but our country should adhere to the principle of protecting its own interests and seek to maintain a balance to ensure the future of energy ** and ***
In short, at present, our country is negotiating with Russia on natural gas **, involving the Siberian-2 pipeline project. Mongolia expressed concern about its exclusion from the negotiations and called for tripartite cooperation. However, due to the construction and operation of pipelines in Mongolia, as well as Mongolia's relations with the United States, Japan refused to sign the contract and was concerned about the risks that Mongolia's instability and relations with the United States might pose. Against this backdrop, future gaming and decision-making will be key.