The head of South Ossetia, Anatoly Bibilov, told Sputnik in an interview on Tuesday that the breakaway republic's decision to hold a referendum on joining Russia enjoys overwhelming support of his people as well as leading Russian politicians
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th April, 2022) The head of South Ossetia, Anatoly Bibilov, told Sputnik in an interview on Tuesday that the breakaway republic's decision to hold a referendum on joining Russia enjoys overwhelming support of his people as well as leading Russian politicians.
Bibilov declared last month that his republic would soon take legal steps to become part of Russia. According to him, consultations are now underway with Russia, and the referendum may take place after April 10.
"I can say that leading politicians, leading political experts fully support this idea, they evaluate this statement, and they know very well that this is actually very important for the entire people of Ossetia," Bibilov said.
Bibilov noted that the overwhelming majority of South Ossetian citizens would support the decision to join Russia.
"I think that everyone supports this decision. Why? Because this is not the desire of Anatoly Bibilov, but this is the desire of the people. So I express the desire of the people. And this desire is absolutely connected with mine," Bibilov added.
According to Bibilov, 99.8% of South Ossetian citizens voted in favor of joining Russia in a referendum held in 1992.
"I don't think there will be any major difference between these figures," he said.
South Ossetia declared its independence from Georgia in 1991, and gained full de facto control over the territory after a military conflict of August 2008. Since then, South Ossetia has expressed its intention of joining Russia, mainly because neighboring North Ossetia already is a part of the Russian Federation. South Ossetia's independence is recognized by five UN member states, namely Russia, Nauru, Nicaragua, Syria and Venezuela.
