Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the imposition of tough sanctions on Moscow has put landlocked Mongolia in a tight spot economically and diplomatically, and experts warn that its delicate balancing act between East and West could be upset.
On Tuesday, a small group of protesters gathered on Ulaanbaatar’s Sukhbaatar Square to call for an end to hostilities in Ukraine, only to be confronted by residents worried about antagonizing Russia.
The stand-off reflected the fault lines in a country that underwent a democratic transition in 1990 following decades of Soviet hegemony, and now worries about the growing regional dominance of China.
Surrounded by Russia in the north and China in the south, Mongolia has cultivated allies such as Japan, South Korea and the United States in a “third neighbor” diplomatic strategy aimed at reinforcing its political independence, but its economy has continued to rely on its two giant neighbors.
Mongolia’s central bank warned at the start of the week that most of its foreign trade is facilitated through Russian banks and it sources nearly all of its oil from its northern neighbor, which is now facing international isolation.
Bank Governor Lkhavgasuren Byadran warned there were risks that payments could not be made, and deliveries of food and consumer goods from Europe also faced disruption.
“We are too dependent on Russia and it will hit us in many aspects, not only petrol,” said Sumati Luvsandendev, a Mongolian political analyst and opinion
pollster, noting that Mongolia sourced large amounts of grain from Russian suppliers.
Comments