MONGOLIA AWARDS KYAKHTA BORDER SERVICE OF RUSSIA

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The President of Mongolia and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed forces Ts.Elbegdorj issued on August 8 a decree on bestowing the Mongolian Order of Military Glory upon the Kyakhta border service. To implement the decree, a Mongolian delegation, led by the Chief of the Presidential office Mr P.Tsagaan, headed the same day for Kyakhta, a town and the administrative center of Kyakhtinsky District in Russian Republic of Buryatia, located near the Mongolia-Russia border and standing directly opposite the Mongolian border town of Altanbulag. Mr Tsagaan was accompanied by his assistant B.Bulganbayar and a press officer J.Dashtseren, a head of General Authority for Border Protection (GABP) Brigadier-General Sh.Lkhachinjav, a 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. Solemn 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. Under anthems of Mongolia and Russia and being saluted by the Guard of honor, composed by the board troops and the 37th motorized infantry brigade, Mr Tsagaan 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 Elbegdorj Tsakhia,” he said. Having congratulated personnel of the border troops and the gathered on this remarkable event, Mr Tsagaan stressed that this award “is the recognition of the huge 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 peoples”. He also noted that the presentation of such an honorable award comes at a significant time, "namely, on the eve of the solemn celebration of the 75th anniversary of our common victory in Khalk Gol River 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 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 never forgets about this,” he noted and expressed “a sincere gratitude to all veterans and the gathered”. The Khalkh River battles had demonstrated unique talent of 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 a new story Mongolia XX century, here used to gather fathers of the People's Revolution of 1921,” he stressed. Mongolia and Russia are the eternal neighbors, the Mongolia-Russia borders are the calmest ones in the world, “which represent 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”. A 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 peoples”. After him, several officials took the floor 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 “symbolizing 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 Buryat were mobilized, almost a third of the fighting army". Mr Nagovitsyn said, for example, that the award “became an important event not only for the Kyakhta border service but also for the Mongolia-Russia ties”. Journalists noted the value of the event and then asked some questions, for example, about signing a visa waiving agreement during the visit of Mr Putin to Mongolia. To this Mr Tsagaan expressed a 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 ran in atmosphere of warmth, friendliness and mutual understanding. By the way, this award is not the first one Kyakhta receives from Mongolia. In 1970s it was given our Order of Sukhbaatar--the highest state award equal to the former Soviet Union’s Order of Lenin. D.Enkhbileg