Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in a welcoming ceremony upon his arrival at an airport in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on Sept. 2.Natalia Gubernatorova/Reuters
The Kremlin said Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had arrived for a state visit in Mongolia, which lies on the route of a planned new gas pipeline connecting Russia and China.
Russia has been in talks for years about building the pipeline to carry 50 billion cubic metres of natural gas a year from its Yamal region to China via Mongolia.
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 Ukraine war. It is the planned successor to an existing pipeline of the same name that already supplies Russian gas to China and is expected to reach its planned capacity of 38 billion cubic metres a year in 2025.
The new venture has long been bogged down over key issues such as the pricing of the gas. However, Mr. Putin said on the eve of his visit that preparatory work, including feasibility and engineering studies, was proceeding as scheduled.
He is set to hold talks with Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh on Tuesday.
Ukraine urged Mongolia last week to arrest Mr. Putin on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court last year, when it accused him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.
The Kremlin has dismissed the accusation, saying it is politically motivated, and has said it has no worries about Mr. Putin making the trip.
The warrant obliges the court’s 124 member states, including Mongolia, to arrest Mr. 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 warrant, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week that “all of the aspects of the visit have been thoroughly discussed.”