NEW DELHI: India said it is sympathetic to the problems being faced by Mongolia , and would help them use the $1 billion assistance offered in 2015 to tide over their present crisis – economic sanctions imposed by China as punishment for inviting the Dalai Lama Answering questions, the MEA spokesperson said, “We are ready to work with Mongolian people in this time of their difficulty. During the visit of Prime Minister to Mongolia in May 2015, PM had conveyed to the Mongolian leadership that India will extend support to Mongolia in diverse fields. We had announced a credit line of US$ 1 billion during the visit. Mongolian leadership was highly appreciative of this gesture and conveyed that it would help them in obtaining investment and financial resources from their other partners. We are closely working with the Mongolian government to implement the credit line in a manner that is deemed beneficial to the friendly people of Mongolia by its leadership.”However, India is careful to steer clear of the Mongolia-China spat, including mentioning that Mongolia’s current crisis also was due to its debt servicing problems, as others.“We have a long spiritual relationship with India,” Gonchig Ganbold, Mongolia’s ambassador told TOI. “It's important that India raises its voice against the unilateral measures China is taking against us which is hurting our people specially when severe winter is upon us.” Silence, he said, could be construed as giving China a “pass” for its behaviour.The envoy held talks with Pradeep Rawat , joint secretary, east Asia in the MEA. But it is not yet clear what kind of support India can give to Mongolia, whose two biggest neighbours are China and Russia. Sources in the government said, India was committed to support Mongolia, without clarifying whether that would entail a public statement sure to anger the Chinese. “We consider Mongolia to be a partner in democracy,” they said.