MOSCOW, February 8. /TASS/. The Russian side supports the idea of holding a meeting between the heads of governments of Russia, China and Mongolia, while no exact date has yet been set, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said in an interview with TASS.
"As for the aforementioned proposal by the Mongolian prime minister, then in principle we support the idea of holding a separate trilateral meeting of the heads of government, although the final decision on the time and place has not yet been made. Given the already established tradition, I can presume that the optimal venue for such an event may become, for example, the next meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of Government slated for Pakistan in the fall. For this, of course, the decision of all three countries is needed," Rudenko said, commenting on remarks by Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene that Ulaanbaatar is organizing a trilateral summit with China and Russia in order to promote and expand joint projects.
The senior diplomat reiterated that this year marks the 10th anniversary of trilateral interaction between Russia, China and Mongolia with the first summit in this format held on the sidelines of the SCO Council of Heads of Government in Dushanbe in 2014.
"I would like to separately note that our countries are currently linked by bilateral relations of the comprehensive strategic partnership. We think that in the future it will be advisable to aspire to the same level in the trilateral format as well, which will require serious intensification of interactions in the practical sphere, consistently enhancing them with new strategic goals and fine-tuning coordination on the global stage and in regional affairs," Rudenko added.
He also noted that Moscow places great significance on promoting the project for building a transit gas pipeline from Russia to China via Mongolian territory. "We proceed from the premise that this important Mongolian initiative is mutually beneficial and responds to the interests of all partners," the Russian deputy foreign minister concluded.