ULAN BATOR, October 23. /TASS/. Russia and Mongolia have begun to negotiate on subsoil use and in the field of peaceful nuclear energy, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Victoria Abramchenko said at a meeting of the intergovernmental Russian-Mongolian commission on trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation.
"There are several new directions in such areas as subsoil use and peaceful nuclear energy. I suggest that we start working," she said.
Several years ago, Russia offered its assistance to Mongolia to build new generating capacity, either in the form of a thermal power plant or a nuclear power plant, instead of building a hydroelectric power plant on the Selenga, the main tributary of Lake Baikal.
Mongolia plans to build a number of hydroelectric power plants on one of the tributaries of Lake Baikal - the Selenge River, as well as its tributaries. The Selenga provides up to 80% of the water inflow into the lake.