Russia’s ruling party to support current de facto president in Tskhinvali ‘polls’

The United Russia party has plans to support the current de facto president of Georgia’s occupied Tskhinvali region Anatoly Bibilov in forthcoming polls in the breakaway region. 

Unlike the leaders of Georgia’s another Russian-controlled Abkhazia region, Bibilov says that that it is better for the region to join Russia than be ‘independent.’ 

Tskhinvali is located in central Georgia, several kilometers far from the capital Tbilisi. 

Russia recognized the Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions as independent states after the Russia-Georgia 2008 war. 

Since then only Venezuela, Nikaragua, Nauru and Syria have taken the same step. 

The rest of the international community urges Russia to withdraw troops from historic Georgian lands.