Death penalty

Within days of his inauguration, he took measures to reinstate the death penalty for sexual offenders, which came days after the death penalty was completely abolished in the country.^[19] On 16 October, Battulga announced the formation of an expert group to look into the reinstatement of the death penalty for premeditated murder and rape.^[20] The following month, he submitted his proposal to the justice and interior ministry.^[21] In a speech to the during the opening of the autumn session of the State Great Khural, he claimed that a systemic social crisis is to blame for the national challenges that posed a threat to the country.^[22]

The problem lies within the system itself, rather than due to a single individual or political party. Regardless of how good the person or the political party is, they become victims of the irresponsible, poorly coordinated, and unaccountable system, and an adverse condition is set where problems keep piling up and stress levels in the society keep rising.

— Khaltmaagiin Battulga^[23]

Constitutional crisis

On 27 March 2019, the State Great Khural began a constitutional crisis when it adopted an unprecedented law that gave the National Security Council of Mongolia the power to recommend the dismissal of judges and prosecutors, as well as the head of the national anti-corruption service. Battulga's political party, the opposition's main minority faction in the parliament, claims that the law undermines the country's constitutional separation of powers and the larger Mongolian democratic system.^[24]

Disbandment of the MPP

In April 2021, Battulga issued an emergency directive to disband the MPP "in order to safeguard the sovereignty and democracy of the country" after the MPP passed amendments to the constitution.^[25][26] The constitutional amendments, which took effect in May 2020, limits one's presidency to one term, making Battulga ineligible to re-run in the 2021 presidential election.^[27][28] At the same time, he also condemned the formation of a “Mongolian Military Union” as 'a parallel military structure" that "threatens the country's democratic foundations" and "endangers the fundamental rights and interests of our citizens and constitution." Luvsanvandangiin Bold, former Minister of Defense and current Battulga's Advisor on National Security warned that the creation of the union "will lead to the creation of quasi-fascist regime.”^[29]

East Asia

Battulga is largely seen as a pro-Russian politician and a Russophile due to his Russian ties and his knowledge of the Russian language. He is commonly compared to Russian President Vladimir Putin due to their shared love and experience in judo. When he spoke to Putin during a summit in eastern Russia in September 2017, Putin said that the shared sport will help "develop a good working and personal relationship".^[30]

Battulga has in recent years criticized the Mongolian economy's dependence on China.^[31]

On 14 June 2018, after the conclusion of the Singapore Summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump,^[32] Battulga congratulated both leaders, telling Kim that he considers the summit as a "landmark event not only for the North Korea–United States relations but for the Northeast Asian region and the Korean Peninsula".^[33] Battulga was widely expected to host the summit as the Mongolian head of state due to the fact that the country has sponsored many regional summits in recent years and is easily accessible by train from Pyongyang, North Korea.^[34] Days after the summit, Battulga invited Kim to Ulan Bator for a state visit in honor of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations.^[35]

Others

In mid-March 2018, Battulga appealed to U.S. President Trump via telegram to more trade relations, saying an economic downturn threatened to destabilize Mongolia, and that although Mongolia is an "oasis of democracy", this "does not contribute to economic development" in a region where authoritarianism (China and Russia) is on the rise.^[36][37] The United States is one of Mongolia’s so-called Third Neighbors, which Battulga said that U.S. trade and investment could help prevent the return of authoritarian in Mongolia. During a visit to Kyrgyzstan in June 2019, Battulga opened the Mongolian Embassy in Bishkek.^[38]

International trips as president

More information Date, Country ...

List of foreign visits by Khaltmaagiin Battulga
Date	Country	City	Type of visit/Reason for visit
29 August–1 September 2017	Hungary	Budapest	2017 World Judo Championships[39]
4–7 September 2017	Russia	Vladivostok	Eastern Economic Forum[40]
9–10 June 2018	China	Qingdao	Shanghai Cooperation Organisation[41]
11–13 September 2018	Russia	Vladivostok	Eastern Economic Forum[42]
24 September 2018	Azerbaijan	Baku	Working visit[43]
18–19 October 2018	Belgium	Brussels	12th Asia-Europe Meeting Summit[44]
22–26 October 2018	Switzerland	Geneva	2018 World Investment Forum
24–28 April 2019	China	Beijing	State visit[45]
12–14 June 2019	Kyrgyzstan	Bishkek	State visit[46]
30 July–1 August 2019	United States	Washington, D.C.	State visit[47]
4–5 September 2019	Russia	Vladivostok	Eastern Economic Forum
18–23 September 2019	India	New Delhi	State visit[48]
19 January 2020	Switzerland	Davos	World Economic Forum[49]
27 January 2020	Norway	Oslo	Working visit[50]
27 February 2020	China	Beijing	State visit[51]

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