Flights-rails: sanctions hinder flights between Moscow and Ulaanbaatar

Secondary sanctions are preventing Russia and Mongolia from establishing direct flights between the capitals, Russian Ambassador to Ulaanbaatar Alexei Yevsikov told Izvestia. Almost the entire civil air fleet of the country is leased from Western companies. It is also forced to maintain its international obligations in the field of civil aviation, which creates risks that our companies' vessels may be detained there. However, the parties continue to work on the issue of resuming direct flights between the capitals, the diplomat said. What prevents the Sukhoi Superjet 100 from being sent there, as to Turkey, and how relations between Moscow and Ulaanbaatar are developing in general, is in the Izvestia article.

Why Russia and Mongolia are not opening flights between the capitals

Russia and Mongolia are still unable to agree on the restoration of direct flights between Moscow and Ulaanbaatar due to the risk of secondary sanctions. Nowadays, tourists most often travel by plane to Ulan-Ude, Krasnoyarsk or Irkutsk, and from these cities they take a bus, train or plane to Ulaanbaatar. The journey from Ulan-Ude to Ulan Bator takes 11 hours, from Irkutsk it takes about 18 hours by bus or about an hour by plane.

— Due to objective circumstances, our dialogue is not easy. The Mongolian partners are afraid of falling under the so—called secondary sanctions, since almost the entire civil air fleet capable of long-range flights remains leased from Western companies, and is also insured by American and European structures affiliated with them, Russian Ambassador Alexey Evsikov told Izvestia.

As for the flights of Russian companies, Ulaanbaatar has international obligations in the field of civil aviation. Their execution hypothetically creates risks of detention or arrest of aircraft registered in Russia that are not excluded from the registers of other countries, the diplomat added. Nevertheless, the parties continue to work on restoring direct flights between Moscow and Ulaanbaatar.

— We and our Mongolian colleagues believe that the restoration of direct flights between the capitals is important not only for the development of bilateral practical cooperation, but also for optimizing the travel routes of Russian businessmen and tourists to Asia, — says Alexey Evsikov.

If direct flights are opened, Russian tourists will have the opportunity to actively use the new Ulaanbaatar Genghis Khan International Airport as a regional hub for flights to countries with which our flights have been suspended, such as South Korea and Japan. In addition, a transfer in the Mongolian capital can make vacation trips to Southeast Asian countries, especially Vietnam, very convenient, the diplomat noted.

In recent years, the tourist flow between the two countries has increased. From January to August 2024, Mongolia received about 527,000 foreign tourists, most of them citizens of the Russian Federation. Today, only two airlines operate flights from Russia to this country: IrAero operates on the Irkutsk – Ulaanbaatar route, Krasavia flies to the capital of the neighboring state from Krasnoyarsk.

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According to open sources, Krasavia is not included in the sanctions lists. And IrAero is on the EU blacklist, and airlines from it are subject to flight bans or operational restrictions within the EU due to "non-compliance with international safety standards."

In the case of flights from Krasnoyarsk or Irkutsk, the Mongolian side is ready to accept flights operated by Russian airlines, since the local carrier does not serve these lines, aviation expert Oleg Panteleev explained to Izvestia. But when it comes to flights between the two capitals, it is likely that the Mongolian carrier will also need to operate flights on a parity basis with Russian airlines. And this is where Ulaanbaatar may refuse due to the risk of sanctions or lack of commercial interests in such routes, the expert explained.

Sanctions against Russian airlines

The United States first imposed sectoral sanctions against Russian aviation in mid-March 2022. At the same time, the United States closed its airspace to aircraft from the Russian Federation, following the European Union, Great Britain and Canada. In 2023, the number of Russian airlines on the US sanctions list increased to 297.

In 2022, the EU blacklisted airlines from the Russian Federation due to the fact that the aircraft "do not comply with international safety standards." So, in the list of the European Union already in 2022 there were 21 airlines, among them the largest Aeroflot, Rossiya, Pobeda, Ural Airlines, S7 and Utair.

Now foreign companies theoretically have a chance to get under secondary sanctions in case of flights to the Russian Federation, Oleg Panteleev tells Izvestia.

— If the aircraft is leased from Western companies, then the airline and the leasing company may exchange information after the imposition of sanctions that flights to certain destinations are prohibited on aircraft. Failure to comply with these requirements can lead to the termination of the contract," the aviation expert explained.

After the new US administration came to power, Washington allowed the lifting of some restrictions. But it's still not worth believing that the United States, and especially the EU, will lift restrictions against Russian airlines in the near future, Oleg Panteleev believes.

Another difficulty for launching direct flights is the lack of proper demand, aviation expert Roman Gusarov tells Izvestia.

— We need to have a stable passenger flow if we are talking about regular transportation. Most likely, there is no such passenger traffic now. "... Russian airlines, despite the sanctions, fly abroad, with more than a dozen aircraft operating such flights," the expert says.

However, Russian companies can use small domestic-made Sukhoi Superjet 100 vessels. However, it is economically unjustified to launch these aircraft on flights from Moscow to Ulaanbaatar due to the long distance, Oleg Panteleev claims.

Cooperation between Russia and Mongolia

The restoration of air travel will contribute to the further growth of tourism and strengthen business ties, said Daria Saprynskaya, a researcher at the Department of Central Asia and the Caucasus at ISAA Moscow State University.

— For business, air travel will speed up negotiations and expand cooperation. In 2023, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to about $2.3 billion. Mongolia's investment potential is growing, so restoring flights could be a positive step," the expert says.

Moscow and Ulaanbaatar are now actively developing cooperation: in the first seven months of 2024, the trade turnover between Russia and Mongolia increased by more than 21%. Moreover, the parties hardly use dollars and euros in their calculations. Moscow had previously expressed the hope that by the end of 2024, mutual trade would be able to overcome the $2.5 billion mark. More than 70 Russian regions maintain economic ties with Mongolia. The Samara, Irkutsk, Kemerovo regions, Altai Territory and Moscow showed the greatest activity that year.

Russia is one of Mongolia's largest trading partners. Ulaanbaatar is mainly interested in importing fuel, vehicles, nuclear reactors, electric machines, metals, aircraft, food products and pharmaceuticals. At the same time, Mongolia exports goods to 80 countries. It sells meat, wool, textiles, and is also rich in natural resources: gold, silver, iron, coal, copper, tin, nickel, zinc, and fluorspar.

The further growth of export-import relations between the Russian Federation and Mongolia is facilitated by the strengthening of its ties with the EAEU. The country is now one of the observers at the Union. Earlier, the heads of the EAEU member states approved the start of negotiations on concluding an interim free trade agreement with Ulaanbaatar. The EEC reported that the Union and Mongolia intend to finalize the document by the end of 2024.

Moscow and Ulaanbaatar also cooperate in the field of culture and history. Earlier, Vladimir Putin invited the Mongolian leader to attend events dedicated to the celebration of victory in the Great Patriotic War. "We expect to see the head of the Mongolian state on May 9, 2025 on Red Square in Moscow among the honored guests," Alexey Evsikov emphasized.

In addition, the embassy is going to widely celebrate the anniversary of the Great Victory together with the Mongolian side. A monument to compatriots and citizens of Mongolia who participated in the Great Patriotic War will be unveiled in Ulaanbaatar. Also, an exhibition of propaganda posters "Windows of TASS", produced during the war years, is currently being prepared at the National Art Gallery of Mongolia. On the eve of Victory Day, contests of military-patriotic songs, poems and drawings will be held among Mongolian youth.

— In the near future, in accordance with the decree of the President of the Russian Federation, 25 citizens of Mongolia will be awarded commemorative medals "80 years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945," the ambassador said.

And reminded: in early September, the countries will celebrate another important date for them — the 80th anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet-Mongolian troops in the Manchurian strategic offensive operation, which led to the defeat of the Japanese Kwantung army and the end of World War II.