MONGOLIA RESPONSE: REQUESTING SPECIFIC CONTRIBUTIONS TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L ULAANBAATAR 000096 E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/09/2019 TAGS: PREL MOPS MARR NATO MG SUBJECT: MONGOLIA RESPONSE: REQUESTING SPECIFIC CONTRIBUTIONS TO AFGHANISTAN REF: A. STATE 31102 ¶B. ULAANBAATAR 094 Classified By: ECONOFF VINCENT SPERA FOR REASONS 1.4 A, B, AND D ¶1. (C) In response to ref A, Mongolia has been informed of the conclusions of the U.S. strategic review and the U.S. requested support, which was forwarded to Mongolia in Secretary of Defense Gates' letter to Mongolian Minister of Defense Bold in late February. Recent meetings by State EAP DAS Norris with Senior Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials, including the Foreign Minister (ref B),as well as Ministry of Defense leadership, including Vice Minister Basankhuu, reiterated the U.S. requests. Requests were further conveyed in visits by three senior U.S. general officers over the past two weeks. ¶2. (C) Our Mongolian interlocutors have indicated a willingness to participate on the working level, albeit with caveats that a strong degree of financial support from the U.S. will be required. The final decision to support or not will be made by the three members of the Mongolian National Security Council: the President, Prime Minister, and Speaker of Parliament. Post notes that input from the Ministry of Finance may also be an influential factor. Deployments may be weighed heavily with regard to fiscal impact, as Mongolia is under major budget pressure due to decreased income from copper sales, slowing foreign direct investment, and other policy factors. It is also highly probable that any final support decision will be held off until after the upcoming May 24 presidential elections. MINTON