MOSCOW, September 2. /TASS/. Russia is grateful for Mongolia’s aid during the Great Patriotic War and is looking forward to see Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga during the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow marking the 75th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"We hope that next May, President of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga will attend the celebrations of the 75th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War in Moscow," the Russian president said in an interview to Mongolia’s Udriin Sonin newspaper, published on the Kremlin website on Monday.
He went on to say that the people of Russia "remember with gratitude Mongolia’s help during the harsh years of the Great Patriotic War."
"The Mongolian people sent warm clothes and food to Soviet soldiers who fought at the front, and donated their horses to equestrian units," the president continued. "While denying themselves, they raised funds for the Revolutionary Mongolia tank brigade and the Mongolian Arat fighter squadron."
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. Speaking about this event, Putin described it as "one of the most striking and momentous events in our common history."
Recollecting the events of the past, Putin mentioned the ‘turbulent’ situation on Mongolia’s eastern border, where tensions were mounting. Under those circumstances, the Soviet Union and the Mongolian People’s Republic signed the Protocol on Mutual Assistance, which allowed for deploying Red Army units on the territory of Mongolia on March 12, 1936.
"In the final stage of the fierce fighting that lasted from August 20 to September 16, 1939, the Red Army defeated the invaders, fighting shoulder to shoulder with Mongol soldiers, and defended Mongolia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity," Putin said.
"The victory at Khalkhin Gol was of great military and political importance. It became one of the main reasons why Japan did not attack the Soviet Union in 1941, and delayed its entry into World War II," he continued. "This allowed the Soviet leadership to move its forces to the west at the end of 1941, which later played an important role in the battle of Moscow.".