Analysts argue about Peskov's words about referendum in South Ossetia

The words pronounced by Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the President of Russia, that Moscow is not taking steps to annex South Ossetia are a signal for Georgia, which treats South Ossetia as its territory. At the same time, by Peskov's words that the referendum issue itself needs to be updated, the Kremlin made it clear to the authorities of South Ossetia that the initiative to hold a referendum should be cancelled, the analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on May 13, Anatoly Bibilov, then president of South Ossetia, signed a decree on holding a referendum on July 17 on the issue of joining Russia. On May 24, the above Dmitry Peskov stated that Moscow was taking no steps to join South Ossetia to Russia; and that the very posing of the question submitted to the referendum on the republic's accession needed to be improved from a legal point of view.

The Dmitry Peskov's statement about the referendum in South Ossetia has emphasized that for Russia this issue is still irrelevant, Soslan Djusoev, a former adviser to Anatoly Bibilov, believes.

According to Ruslan Totrov, the political editor of the "OsNova" website, by Peskov's statement, the Kremlin made it clear to the authorities of South Ossetia that the referendum initiative should be cancelled. "The meaning of the words of the press secretary of the President of Russia is extremely simple, and there is no need looking for some kind of double bottom therein. Mr Peskov has directly stated that the Russian Federation here and now, and apparently in some foreseeable future, is not considering the possibility of joining South Ossetia," Mr Totrov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The Peskov's statement about the referendum was addressed primarily to Georgia, not South Ossetia, said Valery Dzutsati, an analyst on Northern Caucasus. According to his story, different groups in the Kremlin see the situation differently. Some are pushing South Ossetia to the referendum, while others say it's not necessary.

"Georgia is very soft and loyal to Russia; and being under the sanctions, if Russia agrees to the referendum on officially joining South Ossetia, it would mean pushing Georgia away from Russia. And now is not the best time for such a decision," Mr Dzutsati told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 26, 2022 at 06:30 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.