While Mongolia’s economy relies heavily on its two giant neighbors, and especially China, it has pursued a diplomatic strategy called the “third neighbor” which seeks to reinforce political independence and cultivate allies and investment partners from countries including Japan, South Korea, Germany and the United States. “It is a very real thing here,” said Odbayar Erdenetsogt, the foreign policy adviser to Mongolia’s president. But that didn’t change the fact that the country’s priority was the best relations possible with its two actual neighbors: “Our president is very good friends with Putin. He is very close and very good friends with Xi Jinping. We have to have that connection.”Asked whether that relationship could help the Vatican’s diplomacy with either nation, but especially China, Mr. Erdenetsogt offered a diplomatic reality check.

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Persons: Dostoyevsky, “, ” Francis, —, ”, Odbayar Erdenetsogt, Putin, Xi Jinping, Erdenetsogt Locations: Mongolia, Mongolian, — Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, United States