Russia recognized the South Ossetia region as an independent state after a war against Georgia in 2008 and stationed thousands of soldiers there.
People in Georgia mourn the death of two Georgian soldiers who were killed fighting Russian troops in Ukraine.
(dpa)
South Ossetia, a conflict region that has broken away from Georgia, wants to vote on possible accession to Russia. A referendum is fundamentally necessary for such a step, said the ruler of the South Caucasus region, Anatoly Bibilov, on Russian state television on Wednesday. But that is “not very difficult” to organize. Bibilow also said: “I believe that unification with Russia is our strategic goal.”
Russia recognized South Ossetia as an independent state after a war against Georgia in 2008, along with the Abkhazia region, and stationed thousands of soldiers in the region. Abkhazia, on the other hand, is not planning to join Russia, said a spokesman for the local parliament. Although Russia is a strategic and close partner, Abkhazia “according to the constitution is an independent country”.
South Ossetia’s head of parliament Alan Tadtaev told the Russian state agency TASS that the referendum should be held “in the near future”. On February 24, Russia launched a war of aggression against neighboring Ukraine, citing, among other things, an alleged “liberation” of the eastern Ukrainian separatist areas of Donetsk and Luhansk. As a result, concerns grew that fighting could flare up again in pro-Russian regions in other ex-Soviet states.
On Sunday, the Luhansk separatist leader Leonid Pasechnik announced that a vote should be taken on the region’s accession to Russia. Kyiv then said that such a referendum would not be recognized by Ukraine.