U.S., Mongolia Announce Formal Diplomatic Ties

The United States and Mongolia, a close ally of the Soviet Union, announced today they have established diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level.

A brief joint communique said the decision was reached following consultations at the United Nations in which the two countries confirmed their commitment “to the principles of equality, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, mutual respect and mutual benefit.”

It is the first time the two countries have had diplomatic relations.

Secretary of State George P. Shultz and Gendenginn Nyamdoo, the Mongolian representative at the United Nations, formalized the new relationship at a signing ceremony.

Since achieving independence from China in 1924, Mongolia has shunned the West while modeling its political and economic system along Soviet lines.

It is a sparsely populated country, with only 1.9 million inhabitants occupying an area twice the size of Texas.

The presence of 38,000 Soviet troops in Mongolia has been a sore point in Moscow’s relations with Peking. However, the Soviets announced recently that they will withdraw a motorized rifle division and several separate units from Mongolia starting this spring.

In the 1970s, the United States and Mongolia were close to establishing diplomatic relations but the talks broke down, possibly because of pressure on the Mongolians from the Soviet Union, according to State Department officials.

The United States and Mongolia reopened talks on exchanging ambassadors last fall. The State Department said earlier this month that progress in the talks was unrelated to the Soviet troop withdrawal announcement.