ULAN BATOR, October 24. /TASS/. Gazprom is ready to take part in developing the gas supply infrastructure of Mongolia, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Viktoria Abramchenko told reporters following the results of the Russian-Mongolian Intergovernmental Commission on trade and economic cooperation.

"Gazprom said the following: they are ready to become a partner in the development of gas supply system of Mongolia. They are ready to develop a gasification plan for Mongolia. This is important, because today Mongolia has the same environmental problem as we have in the Siberian regions - heating with coal, which means emissions into the atmosphere. In Ulan Bator there is a yurt area, where ordinary people heat themselves with coal. Thermal power plants that are not upgraded are also heated by coal," she said.

According to Abramchenko, it is too early to talk about exactly what volume of Russian gas Mongolia will receive.

"For this, a gas supply plan is needed. Today, Mongolia’s (energy) balance includes its own electricity and electricity imported from the Russian Federation. We agreed within the framework of the commission, and the Mongolian side is very interested in (discussing the construction of) low-power nuclear power plants. This is a promising direction, given that Mongolia has its own mineral raw materials, including uranium raw materials," the Russian Deputy Prime Minister added.

Approval of the design documentation for the Soyuz Vostok gas pipeline through Mongolia to China is expected in the first quarter of 2024, and construction of the pipeline can begin immediately after that, also in the first quarter of 2024, Abramchenko said.

The Soyuz Vostok pipeline is an extension of the Russian Power of Siberia-2 gas pipeline to supply up to 50 billion cubic meters of gas annually through Mongolia to China. The length of the Mongolian section of the pipeline will be about 960 km.