'Permanent friendship treaty with Mongolia to take relations to new level' — Putin

AKIPRESS.COM - The relations between Russia and Mongolia will enter a whole new level after the signing of a permanent bilateral treaty on friendship and extensive strategic partnership, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview published on the Kremlin website on Monday, TASS reports.
In an interview to Mongolia's Udriin Sonin newspaper ahead of his visit to the capital Ulaanbaatar, Putin said he would discuss prospects for further promoting mutually beneficial cooperation, including the implementation of the medium term program for strategic cooperation between Russia and Mongolia.
"At the end of the visit, we will sign an interstate treaty on friendly relations and comprehensive strategic partnership, which will raise our bilateral ties to a fundamentally new level," the Russian leader said, adding that the document, based on the 1993 Treaty of Friendly Relations and Cooperation, will have no expiration date.
Putin stressed that the two states have a long history of mutually beneficial cooperation. For example, this year marks the 70th anniversary of the Ulaanbaatar Railway interstate joint venture, while the development of Mongolia's virgin lands began with Soviet assistance 60 years ago.
"Today, Russian-Mongolian cooperation is comprehensive and multilateral, and covers the political, trade, economic, investment, financial, agricultural, scientific, education, cultural and sports areas," Putin said.
The Russian leader will arrive in Mongolia late on September 2 to attend celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the joint victory over Japanese forces on the Khalkhin Gol River in 1939. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov earlier said the new treaty would be signed by Putin and his Mongolian counterpart Khaltmaagiin Battulga after their talks in Ulaanbaatar on September 3.