Exclusive | Mongolia still expects new Russia-China gas pipeline to go ahead
Negotiations over the Power of Siberia 2 project are progressing despite geopolitical turbulence, Mongolian minister says
Mongolia still expects the Power of Siberia 2 project – a major new gas pipeline connecting Russia and China – to go ahead despite a turbulent geopolitical situation that could lead to a realignment in relations between Beijing, Moscow and Washington.
The pipeline, if completed, would divert 50 billion cubic metres (1.8 trillion cubic feet) of Russian natural gas per year that previously supplied Europe to China via Mongolia.
Power of Siberia 2 was omitted from the Mongolian government’s 2024-28 work programme, and Chinese and Russian officials have provided few recent updates on the project.
Yet, Mongolia’s first deputy prime minister, Gantumur Luvsannyam, insisted that negotiations over the pipeline were proceeding and that the talks were making progress.
If China and Russia reach a deal and start building the pipeline, we are ready to cooperate and accelerate the project
“The reason why it’s not included in the action programme of the government of Mongolia is because it is an issue that cannot be decided one-sidedly by [the Mongolian cabinet],” Luvsannyam, who also serves as Mongolia’s minister of economy, told the Post in an interview.
