Bibilov announces plans of South Ossetia to become part of Russia

On March 30, Anatoly Bibilov, the president of South Ossetia, declared that his partially recognized republic will soon take legal steps to join Russia. This statement was made amid the preparations for the presidential election scheduled for April 10.

Anatoly Bibilov made his statement about the South-Ossetian plans to become part of Russia in his appeal to residents of the republic. "I believe that unification with Russia is our strategic goal; our way and our people's aspiration. And we'll move along this way. We'll take appropriate legal steps in the near future," Mr Bibilov has stated in the post placed on the official website of the President of South Ossetia.

Bibilov has treated the recognition of the independence of South Ossetia in 2008 "as a historic decision that gave the people of South Ossetia guarantees of peace and opportunities for development." "However, the main historical and strategic goal of the Ossetian people, a split nation, is to unite within one state. This state is the Russian Federation," he has stated.

Let us note here that the presidential election campaign in South Ossetia is underway amid the charges put forward against Anatoly Bibilov. The South-Ossetian Central Election Commission (CEC) removes the candidates from the election race, who can be a real competitor to the incumbent president, Ibragim Gasseev, in particular, has stated earlier.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 30, 2022 at 09:10 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.