Mongolia announces 'double sanctions' over conflict in Ukraine

Mongolia imports fuel from Russia, and with many Russian energy companies and banks under sanctions, the country is facing payment problems.Mongolia also lost navigation fees

The Russian special operation in Ukraine and the subsequent imposition of US and allied anti-Russian sanctions caused financial damage to the Mongolian economy, including a drop in airline revenues and problems importing needed Russian goods. This was stated by the Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrein Oyun-Erdene in an interview with the Financial Times.

He noted that we are talking about "double sanctions against Mongolia, although this is not our fault."

Airlines that once flew from Europe to Asia via Russian airspace also flew over Mongolian territory, for which they paid Ulaanbaatar "navigation fees." However, Moscow's response to the flight ban forced many European airlines to fly over Russian territory over the North Pole, or along a southern route through Central Asia and Turkey.

“Secondly, we import fuel from Russia, and since [Russian energy] companies and banks are under sanctions, we face payment problems,” Oyun-Erdene said.

Russians made up half of the number of tourists in Mongolia in 2022 Society

He added that shortages in commodities such as diesel fuel, sunflower oil and mining equipment have led to "outages in the production of some products that are used daily."

“The situation in Ukraine is not just a conflict between two countries. This has a negative and huge impact on the global economy and especially on small landlocked countries, including Mongolia,” he stressed.

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According to Oyun-Erdene, economic sanctions should be introduced after thorough research, because they have a wide impact and negative impact on other countries.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister of Mongolia Sainbuyangiin Amarsaikhan said that the supply of oil products from Russia is extremely important for Mongolia, since they allow providing the country with relatively inexpensive fuel.

Sky News reported the words of the politician that Mongolia imports almost 100% of fuels and lubricants from Russia - this is primarily due to the fact that Mongolia has no access to the sea and is located between Russia and China.

Amarsaikhan said that Ulaanbaatar wants to achieve diversification, and not only in the gas sector. Mongolia wants to develop cooperation with Australia on LNG supplies.