Up to 3,000 signatures have already been collected in support of a referendum on the unification of so-called South Ossetia into Russia and collection of signatures continues, de facto president Anatoly Bibilov was quoted as saying by the Res agency.
As Bibilov said, “there will be a referendum.”
“The most important thing is that this decision of the people assures us of the future of our population and not only of that. It gives confidence to the Russian world, the people’s republics of Luhansk and Donetsk, which are waiting for this. Today we are witnessing that the decision that we made when we recognized these republics was absolutely right. The actions we take for our people are important to Russia as well. When others turn their back to Russia, we go [to them] because it’s our world. Russia is our historical homeland and we must not forget that,” Bibilov said.
He noted that he will continue to fight for the so-called republic.
“I have never lied to my people,” he said.
He added that if the issue is resolved positively, ‘South Ossetia’ will join Russia as a separate entity – ‘Republic of South Ossetia – State Alania.’
In the wake of the 2008 war, Georgia and a significant part of the international community regard ‘South Ossetia’ as occupied by the Russian military.
South Ossetia relies heavily on military, political and financial aid from Russia. Since 2008, the South Ossetian government has expressed their intention of joining the Russian Federation.
On 30 March 2022, the so-called ‘President’ Anatoly Bibilov announced his intention to begin legal proceedings in the near future.
