MONGOLIA AWARDS KYAKHTA BORDER SERVICE OF RUSSIA

On August 8, the President of Mongolia and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed forces Ts.Elbegdorj issued a decree to bestow the Mongolian Order of Military Glory upon the Kyakhta border service. To implement the decree, a Mongolian delegation led by the Chief of the President’s office Mr.P.Tsagaan headed the same day for Kyakhta, a town and the administrative center of Kyakhtinsky District of Russian Republic of Buryatia whichis located near the Mongolian-Russian border and stands directly opposite the Mongolian border town of Altanbulag. Mr.Tsagaan was accompanied by his assistant B.Bulganbayar and a press officer J.Dashtseren, the head of General Authority for Border Protection (GABP) Brigadier-General Sh.Lkhachinjav, the head of the border service department at the GABP Colonel D.Mungunjin, and the Deputy of Commissioner of the boundary in Selenge area Colonel Ch.Deleg. At the Russian border checkpoint of Kyakhta the delegation was warmly welcomed by high officials, among whom were Mr. Vyacheslav Nagovotsyn, the Head of Republic of Buryatia; I.Arjaev, the Minister Counsellor of the Embassy of Russian Federation to Mongolia; M.Gershevich, the Chairman of the Buryatia’s Great Khural; I.Bondarev, the Mayor-General and chief of the Border Guard Service of Russia’s Federal Security Service in Buryatia; and A.Buyantuev, the Chairman of the “Khyakhtinski District” municipality. The announcement of the Mongolian leader’s decree and the ceremony of conferring the Order of Military Glory took place in the administration office of Kyakhta Region. The anthems of both Mongolia and Russia were played while the Guard of honor, composed by the board troops and the 37th motorized infantry brigade, saluted Mr. Tsagaan who attached the Order to the Battle flag of the Kyakhta Border service. “Today I had a great honor to reward the Kyakhta Border service of the Border Patrol Directorate of the Russian Federal Security Service in Buryatia with the Mongolian Order of the Military Glory at the decree of the Mongolian President and Commander-in-chief ElbegdorjTsakhia,” he said. Having congratulated the border personnel and the gathered attendees on this remarkable event, Mr. Tsagaan stressed that this award “is the recognition of the great merit of the Russian Border Troops and Armed Forces in a protection of the independence and sovereignty of Mongolia, in the maintenance of peace on the borders of both countries, and in the cooperation between our two nations”. He also noted that the presentation of such an honorable award comes at a very significant time, “namely, on the eve of the solemn celebration of the 75th anniversary of our common victory in KhalkhRiver battles and the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Mongolia”. “We attach a great importance to these events, and there is no doubt that this visit will open a new stage in the development of the friendly relations and cooperation between our two countries,” he said. “According to the deep meaning of the words said by our President, the Russians are the only people in the world who shed their blood for Mongolia, for its independence and sovereignty, and this was demonstrated to the fullest extend to the whole world during the Khalkh River battles,” he went on. “I was glad to learn that the Kyakhta border troops had participated in these battles too, Mongolia will never forget this,” he noted and expressed “a sincere gratitude to all veterans and the respected attendees today”. The Khalkh River battles had demonstrated unique talent of the great commander G.Jukov, who later became the Hero of the Great Patriotic War, he noted. “It is symbolic that this grand event is taking place in Kyakhta, here began the new history of Mongolia in XX century, here is the place where fathers of the People’s Revolution of 1921 gathered,” he stressed. Mongolia and Russia are eternal neighbors, the Mongolian-Russian borders are among the calmest ones in the world, “which represents one of values of our relationship,” Mr.Tsagaan said. “Paraphrasing the Mongolian proverb ’if the lake is calm the ducks are calm’, we can say ‘if borders are calm the state is calm”. The close cooperation between border regions and services “of our countries play their role in our friendly relationship, and we are determined to deepen these ties,” he said and wished all the gathered successes in their “noble protection of the borders and maintenance of friendly ties between the two nations”. Several officials took the floor after Mr. Tsagaan’s speech to underline a commitment to the friendship and cooperation between our two countries, and to cover bonds of military brotherhood, especially in the Khalkh River battles. The award was highlighted as “a symbol of the recognition and expression of gratitude to the border guards and all the soldiers of Russia, as well as residents of Buryatia: fathers and grandfathers of many of them took part in the war for the independence of the Mongolian People’s Republic (former name), some 16 thousand Buryats were mobilized making up almost a third of the fighting army”. Mr. Nagovitsyn said that the award presentation “became an important event not only for the Kyakhta border service but also for the Mongolian-Russian ties”. Journalists noted the value of the event and then asked some questions such as signing a visa waiving agreement during the visit of Mr. Putin to Mongolia. To this Mr. Tsagaan expressed hope that many important issues will be addressed that will elevate the relations to a newer level. The visit of the delegation took less than six hours but the atmosphere of warmth, friendliness and mutual understanding lingered far longer. This award is not the first one Kyakhta received from Mongolia. In 1970s, the region was given State Order of Sukhbaatar which isthe highest state award equal to the former Soviet Union’s Order of Lenin.