Russia is Eyeing Mongolia and the Reason is Not (Only) China www.insideover.com

Turkey is more and more present in Mongolia, the land in between Russia and China, and its presence is set to work against the Kremlin’s national interests in the region since the two countries have recently resumed their centuries-old rivalry for hegemony over Eurasia. In 2020 as in 1853, Turkey is not alone since its agenda is backed by the Western powers, that’s why Russia needs to carefully plan every move in this all-against-one geopolitical game.

Understanding Turkey’s Vision for Mongolia
Mongolia and Turkey are tied by a millennia-old spiritual relationship since the former is one of the places where the modern-day Turkic peoples used to live long before moving westward. It comes as no surprise that Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan decided to dedicate some space to Ulaanbaatar in its very rich and complex foreign agenda based on the combination of Neo-Ottomanism, Islamic nationalism, Pan-Turkism and Turanism. In Mongolia’s case, Erdogan’s strategists are playing the turanist and pan-Turkic cards, trying to make fascinating and attracting the memory of an ancient and related past.

Pan-Turkism is the ideology whose aim is to make Turkey appear as the legitimate defender of the Turkic peoples wherever they live: China’s Xinjiang, Moldova’s Gagauzia, Russia’s Crimea, Central Asia, and so on. This claim has prompted Ankara to try to fund a pan-Turkic cultural and political revival by means of charities, NGOs, government-linked agencies, schools, cultural centres and mosques.

As of today, Turkey’s strategy is paying back since it is more and more hegemonizing Central Asian dynamics via the Turkic Council and the International Organization of Turkic Culture, it is one of the most important reference points and international sponsors of the Uyghur insurgency and it is attracting into its orbit several Russian republics via their incorporation in pan-Turkic entities, like the World Turks Qurultai.

What is Turanism?
Turanism is a less known but very captivating school of thought believed to originate in tge early 1900s, until Hungary and Turkey decided to bring new life to it in the 2000s. That choice proved savvy, because turanism is now showing up its game-changing potential. Turanism was born out of the minds of Central European thinkers in the late 19th century with the purpose of building a continent-wide alliance made up by the peoples of Ural-Altaic origin so that to counter the unification processes started by the pan-Slavists and the pan-Germanists. These peoples were and are Hungary’s Magyars, Finland’s and Baltics’ Finns, Russia’s Tatars and Anatolia’s Turks, but neo-Turanists tend to extend the spiritual connection to some Asian peoples like the Mongols, Turkestani Turks, the Koreans and the Japanese.

Nineteenth century’s turanism didn’t work out and eventually crashed against the revolution-powered pan-Slavist and pan-Germanist sentiments but Viktor Orban and Erdogan got to make it appealing and, above all, to make it work. The two countries formed a very solid strategic partnership and are expanding throughout Asia. Budapest, for instance, took advantage of the turanist momentum to develop strong ties with the -stan countries and Tokyo.

Turkey’s interest for Mongolia has to be contextualized in this ideological framework and, just like in Central Asia and the Balkans, the task of increasing its own influence to the detriment of Russia is not proving very hard.

What are the Turkish Doing in Mongolia?
The relations between Mongolia and Turkey didn’t start in the post-Cold War but date back to the Ottoman era, that is when the High Porte supported the “Turkic Mongol brothers”‘s military campaigns against the Russians. The later fall of the Gengis Khan-built empire and the turning of the Russian reality into a strong and well-defended empire against the background of the consolidation of the Chinese empire, led to the disappearance of Mongolia as an independent entity until 1911.

In the post-World War I, the Communist revolution spread from Moscow to Ulaanbaatar and the historically deep-rooted hostility between Mongols and Chinese have been wisely exploited by the Soviets to give rise to a decades-long conflict-free partnership whose soundness hasn’t been affected by the political turmoil of the 1990s.

It’s in the aftermath of the Soviet collapse that Turkey enters Mongolia again in the expectation to take advantage of the power vacuum. Although the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1969, it was only from the late 1990s that Ankara started using its own proxies to raise its influence over Ulaanbaatar and it has been recording quite a success.

Avalanche of Turkey-Mongolia Agreements and Projects
As of today, the two countries are tied by more than hundred agreements and from 2011 Turkey has been included in the “Third Neighbor” list, that is the list where are mentioned the nations (beyond Russia and China) recognized by Mongolia as important for the regional stability and, thus, with which is recommended to strengthen the bilateral cooperation. The Third Neighbor’s list speaks for itself since it includes a series of Western or Western-aligned powers: Turkey, the United States, the European Union, Japan, South Korea and India.

Erdogan is known to be a skillful and pragmatic statesman and, indeed, is missing no chance. So far, his strategy has been based on the projection of soft power, more in detail on culture and humanitarian cooperation. The government-linked Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) is present in the country since 1994 and it has proven to be Ankara’s main instrumentum regni.

From 1994 to 2019, the Tika completed 661 humanitarian projects in Mongolia, and 67 new ones were launched last year, and its range of action knows no borders. In fact, the Tika is being engaged in the delivery of tons of food and basic goods to the Northern Mongolia-based Duhka Turks, in the building of capacity underground vegetable warehouses in Henti province (which has been carefully selected for the fact of hosting a small Muslim community), and it is also funding projects in the fields of education, health, work, welfare, social infrastructure and culture.

The latter field is probably the most important due to its potential repercussions. Indeed, the Tika is trying to foster a cultural revival by means of initiatives aimed at helping vanishing Turkic tribes preserve their identity, rituals, language, and religion. Accordingly, the agency is funding the publication of local dictionaries and grammar guides, the establishment of cultural centers, and is entering universities and high schools to “provide consultation for students who want to pursue studies in Turkey”.

Turkey Helps Mongolia with COVID-19
The outcomes are yet to be seen but something is undoubtedly beyond the horizon. Recently, a school in Ulaanbaatar which was renovated by the Tika has been symbolically renamed after Kemal Ataturk. And during the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected Mongolia only marginally, Turkey was in the front line to help national companies to make masks and other medical goods. Equally important is to remember the role played by Ankara in convincing Ulaanbaatar to join NATO missions across the globe, to adopt the alliance’s operational and training standards, and to sign, in 2012, the Individual Partnership and Cooperation Program.

In any case, the most important events took place last year, in the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. The Turkish government sent a delegation to Ulaanbaatar and got several results, including the promise to “take out bilateral relations in every field to the highest level”, concrete support in the fight against Fetullah Gulen’s network, and the participation in the forthcoming establishment of an Ankara-run “parliamentary assembly composed of Turkish-speaking countries and countries which have common roots.”

The Russians in Mongolia
Russia and Turkey are in Mongolia for the same reason, that is to create a bridgehead with which to keep a foot in Central Asia. The former is facilitated by the anti-Chinese hostility displayed by both the Mongol political class and public opinion, whereas the latter is helped by the identity factor.

As of today, Mongolia is far from becoming a Chinese or Turkish satellite since the Kremlin is betting hard on the country and has been increasing its presence since the 2010s. Russian President Vladimir Putin is the mastermind of the Russo-Mongol revival and skillfully posed himself as a mediator between Ulaanbaatar and Beijing with the double result of making Moscow appear the country’s guardian and of monitoring Chinese moves.

Last September, Putin and his Mongol counterpart launched an eloquent message to the world by signing a milestone perpetual friendship treaty. That document is important but needs to be complemented by concrete actions otherwise it will remain a mere piece of paper and the country might well fall in someone else’s hands. Indeed, Turkey got to become a “Third Neighbor” in less than a decade of operations with no need for friendship treaties, showing just how quickly the situation can change.

A citizen arrived from the U.S. diagnosed with coronavirus www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ One person who arrived on a charter flight from Seattle, USA was tested positive for the coronavirus, reported Director of the National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) D.Nyamkhuu at today’s daily Covid-19 briefing of the Ministry of Health.

Mongolian peacekeepers detain suspected Taliban spy www.news.mn

A man suspected of trying to enter the base of the XI deployment of Mongolian peacekeepers, serving with German troops in the NATO-led “Resolute Support” mission in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on 23 June. Mongolian peacekeepers put the man, Mohammad Mansoor Rahman, into custody after he tried to enter the base driving a truck in the night.

Mini LNG plant to supply fuel for Mongolia’s coal truck fleet www.news.mn

Mongolia coal seam gas pioneer Elixir Energy has signed its first offtake agreement with one of the country’s largest fuel retailers to build a small-scale liquified natural gas (LNG) plant to supply the large truck fleet hauling coal to China. The memorandum of understanding is with MT Group and covers using local coal bed methane gas.

MIAT aims to launch passenger services between Mongolia and the United States www.news.mn

At a time when our skies are almost empty of planes, aviation enthusiasts get excited when they see something unusual and positively ecstatic when a first-time sighting is made. Such an event, involving a Mongolian aircraft has got ‘Simple Flying’ into raptures:

History was made on Sunday when a MIAT Mongolian Airlines Boeing 767-300 aircraft operated the first ever non-stop flight to the United States from Mongolia. Let’s take a look at this historic flight:

The Independent reports that a MIAT Mongolian Airlines flight landed at Seattle International Airport on Sunday, 21st June, as the first ever non-stop service between any city in the United States and Mongolia.

The outbound flight to the US lasted just under 11 hours, and just over 11 hours on the way back to Ulaanbaatar. Although the flight repatriated Mongolian citizens stranded in the USA, strictly speaking, it was not a passenger service, but a cargo one: the purpose was to deliver 60,000 items of personal protective equipment (PPE).

This PPE cargo load was a donation made by the Mongolian government to the United States. In particular, it was sent to the Navajo Nation indigenous community, which has been hit particularly hard by COVID-19. The community has had 7,000 confirmed infections, for a population size of 175,000. This makes it one of the highest rates in the US, and one of the highest in the world.

The aircraft that MIAT Mongolian Airlines sent to the US for this purpose is a seven-year-old Boeing 767-300, of which Mongolian has two in its fleet. The registration of the one that operated this flight is JU-1021. Interestingly, this aircraft carries the name Chinggis Khaan. This is of course Genghis Khan, the famous 12th-century ruler of a vast Mongol Empire, which at its height extended from Vietnam to Central Europe.

Interestingly, on the way back, the aircraft flew to Ulaanbaatar with over 200 Mongolian citizens on board who had until previously been stuck in the United States due to travel restrictions. It also carried back multiple crates of dinosaur fossils which had been stolen from Mongolia and smuggled to the US.

Photos of the 767 aircraft, and of the unloading of cargo, were posted by the Seattle Tacoma International Airport’s Twitter account two days ago. Also among the photos is a snapshot of a ceremony held at the airport. Michael O’Hare, an official of FEMA (the US Federal Emergency Management Agency), formally accepted the donation on behalf of the United States from the Mongolian ambassador Yondon Otgonbayar, also pictured, who represented Mongolia.

Mongolian Airlines has ambitions for scheduled USA flights

‘Simple Flying; previously reported that MIAT Mongolian Airlines has applied for permission to launch scheduled passenger services between Mongolia and the United States. Despite having an active fleet of just seven aircraft, the airline has expressed an interest in launching a single route between the US and Ulaanbaatar. This could perhaps really happen once MIAT Mongolian Airlines receives its first Boeing 787-9 in 2021.

Similar to this rare sighting, there have been many other unusual sightings of aircraft across the world. An Ethiopian Airlines Cargo 777 flew to Banja Luka, a relatively tiny town in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to deliver medical cargo earlier this year. (source: simple flying)

Liverpool win Premier League: Reds' 30-year wait for top-flight title ends www.bbc.com

Liverpool's 30-year wait for a top-flight title is over after Manchester City lost 2-1 at Chelsea to confirm the Reds as Premier League champions.

Jurgen Klopp's side needed one victory to seal the league but City's failure to win means they cannot be caught.

It is Liverpool's 19th top-flight title and their first since 1989-90.

Despite being urged to "stay home" by the city's metro mayor because of coronavirus, thousands of fans gathered at Anfield to celebrate.

Many of the supporters who congregated at the club's ground wore face masks and some lit flares.

Klopp, wearing a Liverpool shirt and clearly emotional, told Sky Sports: "I have no words, it's unbelievable.

"It's much more than I ever thought would be possible, becoming champion with this club is absolutely incredible.

"I haven't waited 30 years, I have been here for four-and-a-half years, but it is quite an achievement, especially with the three-month break because nobody knew if we could go on.

"I know it is difficult for people in this moment but we could not hold back. We will enjoy this with our supporters when we can."

As the global pandemic disrupted life in England and led to the suspension of the Premier League for three months, Reds supporters endured a nervous wait to see how the season would be concluded, with some early suggestions it might have been declared null and void, thus wiping their remarkable efforts from the record books.

Thankfully for them, that did not come to pass, and the Premier League's return this month enabled them to cap their stunning success.

However, because of the measures put in place in response to the virus, the Reds will not be able to celebrate their long-awaited success with their supporters immediately, at least not in the traditional sense.

As with Wednesday's impressive 4-0 win over Crystal Palace, when they next play at Anfield - against Aston Villa on Sunday, 5 July, and for their two other remaining home games - it will be behind closed doors.

As things stand it also seems unlikely they will be able to partake in any of the usual public events in Liverpool, such as an open-top bus parade around the city.

By quirk of fate, though, the next time they take to the field will be at the side they have beaten to this season's title and who pipped them so narrowly last campaign, Manchester City.

Following their defeat at Chelsea, City boss Pep Guardiola congratulated Liverpool on their title success.

A record-breaking season
Winning the title was always the main aim for a club which had endured such a long wait to be crowned champions of England again, having earned that honour 11 times between 1973 and 1990.

But having achieved that ambition things could get better yet, with City's 100-point total for a season one of numerous records Liverpool can still break.

Klopp's side have produced one of the most memorable campaigns in Premier League history, amassing 86 points already, with a record of 28 victories, two draws and a single defeat from their 31 games.

Such has been their dominance, at one stage they led the table by 25 points - a record gap between a side in first and second in English top-flight history.

Liverpool this season v season average from previous 29
2019-20 Average (1990-91 to 2018-19)
28 Wins 19.57
2 Draws 9.72
1 Losses 9.14
70 Goals scored 65.45
21 Goals conceded 38.83
86 Points 68.57
90.32 Win % 50.81
Also still a possibility are the most wins in a season (the record is 32), most home wins (18), most away wins (16) and biggest winning margin (19 points).

Their title win this season is the earliest on record, at least with regard to games remaining, with the Reds having seven still to play.

That it is not the earliest title win by date is only because of the halting of football in England between March and May as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Thirty years of hurt...

Premier League: A lot has happened since Liverpool last won the league
Liverpool's triumph represents a huge moment for their fans, who grew accustomed to success in the 1970s and 1980s, including a run between the 1972-73 and 1990-91 seasons in which they only failed to finish first or second in the league once.

They have not been without silverware in the past 30 years, winning three FA Cups, four League Cups, a Uefa Cup, the Champions League twice - the latest coming last season under Klopp - as well as three Super Cups and one Club World Cup.

However, since Kenny Dalglish led them to the First Division championship, they have had to endure three decades without league success, during which their record tally of titles was surpassed by rivals Manchester United, who have 20 to their name.

It was during this period that United boss Sir Alex Ferguson famously revelled in having "knocked Liverpool off their perch".

The Reds have come close during that time to restoring themselves to the top of the English game, finishing second in the Premier League on four occasions.

Gerard Houllier (2001-02) and Rafael Benitez (2008-09) both took them close.

Famously, in the 2013-14 season, Brendan Rodgers' side looked as though they were going to take the crown but a late-season slump - synonymous with a Steven Gerrard slip that enabled Chelsea to score and win at Anfield - saw them fall agonisingly short.

Last season, they racked up a stunning 97 points, losing only one game all campaign, but had the misfortune of coming up against an even better Manchester City side, who beat them to the title by a point. No side had ever achieved so many points without winning the league.

Klopp takes Reds from 10th to title
The appointment of Klopp has been pivotal to Liverpool's rise in recent seasons to this moment of success.

The German arrived at Anfield in October 2015 following the sacking of Rodgers and with the club 10th in the Premier League.

He arrived with a record of success, having led Borussia Dortmund to two Bundesliga titles and the 2013 Champions League final, and with a reputation for fast-paced, high-pressing attacking play, which he described as "heavy metal football".

The club has not only seen an improvement in their style of play but also their results, with his four full seasons to date yielding finishing positions of fourth, fourth, second and now first.

Intelligent dealing in the transfer market has also been key to his success, with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane signed during his reign. Along with Roberto Firmino, who arrived shortly before Klopp, the trio have scored a sensational 211 goals in less than three seasons (92 for Salah, 65 for Mane and 54 for Firmino).

The additions of world-class goalkeeper Alisson and centre-back Virgil van Dijk were also crucial.

Klopp has also improved players who were at the club before he arrived, including midfielder Jordan Henderson - his captain - and young full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The German is the only Reds manager since Dalglish left (including the Scot himself during a second spell from January 2011 to May 2012) with a win percentage over 60.

Dalglish delivered Liverpool their 16th, 17th and 18th league titles and now, after 30 years, the Reds have found a fitting successor to provide them with their 19th.

"The last two years and since Jurgen's come in has been very positive," Dalglish told BT Sport. "He's been fantastic and epitomises everything Liverpool football club stands for. Whatever they got, they have deserved it.

"Onwards and upwards. We have a lot more happy days to look forward to as long as Jurgen is here."

Ruling Mongolian People's Party wins landslide election www.reuters.com

ULAANBAATAR (Reuters) - The ruling Mongolian People’s Party (MPP) will remain in power after a landslide general election victory secured 62 out of the 76 seats in the State Great Khural, the country’s parliament, according to results released overnight.

Mongolia’s 2020 parliamentary election: Preliminary results and voter turnout www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. The polls have closed across Mongolia in the 2020 parliamentary election. The results are being updated at this moment as ballots being counted at the 2070 polling places throughout the country following the closure of the polls where Mongolians voted to elect a new parliament with 76-seats.

Landslide Victory for Mongolia’s ruling party! www.news.mn

The official results of Wednesday’s Mongolia parliamentary election have been announced: The Mongolian People’s Party, which is the country’s ruling party, has won 62 seats in a landslide victory, while the once formidable opposition Democratic Party won a meagre 11 seats; the Right Person Electorate Coalition and Our Coalition, which is run by former President N.Enkhbayar, each took one seat respectively. Out of a record 121 independent candidates Mr. N.Altankhuyag won a seat in the Among Democratic Party’s winners, J.Erdenebat who was recently imprisoned in the 461st detention centre pending trial in a highly controversial case, also won a seat in the State Great Khural.

EU considers barring Americans from travel list www.bbc.com

EU ambassadors are to continue talks on Friday to plan reopening external borders on 1 July, and travellers from the US could be among those not allowed in.

Some European countries are keen to open up to tourists but others are wary of the continued spread of the virus.

On Wednesday US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he expected a solution "in the coming weeks".

The virus is spreading in the US, so it is likely Americans would be barred.

The 27-member bloc must first agree the measures that non-EU countries should meet before deciding on a safe list.

Brazil, Russia and other countries with high infection rates would also be left off a safe list, according to reports from Brussels.

The EU is not yet thought to have agreed how they will assess which countries meet health standards - one of the criteria for entry. Part of the problem is assessing reliable health data, reports say.

What did Pompeo say?
Travel has largely been banned between the US and EU during the pandemic, but Mr Pompeo said he was "very confident" a solution could be found.

"We certainly don't want to reopen in a way that jeopardises the United States from people travelling here and we certainly don't want to cause problems anyplace else," he said.

He did not give details, but added that the US was working "to get the global travel back in place".

Comparing infection rates with other countries
Latest figures from the EU's health agency, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, highlight Brazil, Peru, Chile, Panama and Saudi Arabia as countries with the highest "case notification rate".

Russia and the US have a lower rate of cases per 100,000 inhabitants but are still higher than most of Europe. The US has seen 2.3 million infections and 120,000 deaths and cases are climbing in several states.

Top health officials warn of 'disturbing' new US surge
The European Commission is advising ambassadors only to consider countries that are comparable or better than the EU average when it comes to new infections, the trend in new infections, as well as testing and tracing.

Reports said member states were assessing two different lists. The Politico website said one covered countries with fewer than 16 cases per 100,000 people and the other with up to 20 cases, which would include Canada and Turkey. The New York Times said the list would be revised every two weeks, so the US could be added later.

Other criteria also being considered are reciprocity and links to the EU. France wants the EU to give access only when it is reciprocated by other countries, while Spain is said to be keen to reopen the border with neighbouring Morocco.

Earlier this month the European Commission also stressed that reopening borders with non-EU states in the Western Balkans was a priority from 1 July. However, EU member Croatia announced on Wednesday that travellers from Bosnia, Serbia, Kosovo and North Macedonia would all face 14-day self-isolation from the end of the day, because of an increase in infections.

The US may also be a problem diplomatically, as on 14 March President Donald Trump unilaterally closed US borders to countries in the EU's Schengen border-free zone. The EU condemned the move at the time.

Why this is a fraught decision for EU countries
Which countries' travellers are allowed in, and which are not?

At first this may seem a practical decision for the EU: if a country outside the EU and Schengen area has high rates of infection, its citizens won't be allowed in to the bloc.

If infection rates are similar to or lower than the EU average, then willkommen, bienvenue, welcome!

Except it's not that simple.

Producing a list of outside countries "acceptable" for EU travel is also a political - and economic - decision.

Tourists bring much-needed revenue to Covid-19-ravaged economies, of course. But EU leaders are not keen to take risks. Even countries wanting an economic boost are aware the political backlash would be huge if tourists bring Covid-19 with them.

And, as is so often the case, opinion between the EU's 27 countries is divided.

Some worry that barring a particular country over Covid-19 could cause political friction with allies or worsen existing tensions. EU relations with Washington and with Moscow are already delicate, shall we say.

Then there's the issue of reciprocity.

France is particularly attached to this. In other words, if a country bars entry to tourists from an EU or Schengen nation, then that country should be allowed to return the "favour", thinks Paris. Also, if a non-EU country grants access to EU visitors, should the EU be diplomatically obliged to respond in kind?

I'm told the list of outside countries whose citizens will have access to EU/Schengen as of 1 July is likely to be "small" to start with.

Discussions between member states' ambassadors to Brussels are due to continue on Friday, with an outcome to be decided unanimously on Friday or "shortly after".

Can Europe save its tourist season?
The EU is split into two groups that include those hoping to salvage something from this year's summer tourist season and those that fear for the health situation.

Although the EU urged the 27 member states to reopen internal borders from 15 June, several countries have moved carefully to avoid a second spike in infections.

Denmark, which was among the first European countries to start lifting its lockdown, has begun reopening its borders more slowly than others. Denmark is a Schengen state but it still has strict criteria for those visiting the country.

Island isolation over as Greece lets tourists back
Tourists were allowed to return from mid-June from Norway, Iceland and Germany, but not from neighbouring Sweden.

Greece, meanwhile, opened its borders to much of Europe on 15 June in a bid to kick-start its tourist season. Visitors from some countries including Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands face compulsory testing for Covid-19.