Tskhinvali de facto president: better to join Russia than be independent

De facto president of Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region Anatoly Bibilov says that it is better for the region to join Russia than be independent. 

Speaking for Russia-24, Bibilov says that the move ‘ is a wish of the people of our nation.’ 

“The ‘Five Steps to Russia’ program that we have announced is needed to create the conditions for the joining of South Ossetia within Russia. This is not my whim, this has been the desire of our nation since the 20s of the last century. Ossetians are divided and this problem needs to be solved. Many say that South Ossetia should be independent, but more important than independence is the unity of the ethnic group, common traditions, customs, language,” Bibilov said.

He stated that ‘South Ossetia did not leave the Russian Empire independently’, and that in a referendum held in the 90s, 99.9% of locals supported staying in the Soviet Union.

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

The international community says that the regions are occupied by Russia and that the country is exercising effective control there.