Georgia’s South Ossetia region puts referendum to join Russia on hold

Alan Gagloev, the new leader of South Ossetia, has put plans for a referendum to join Russia on hold in the latest political development in Georgia’s breakaway region that was at the centre of the Russo-Georgian war of 2008.

The referendum to join Russia had been scheduled for July 17 by the former president of the Moscow-backed enclave, Anatoly Bibilov.

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However, Bibilov lost his re-election bid earlier this month, ceding power to Gagloev, who has now put the former president’s plans on hold.

In a presidential decree issued on Monday, Gagloev invoked the “uncertainty of the legal consequences of the issue submitted to a referendum,” stressing “the inadmissibility of a unilateral decision of a referendum on issues affecting the legitimate rights and interests of the Russian Federation.”

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The presidential decree also ordered “to hold, without delay, consultations with the Russian side on the entire range of issues related to the further integration of South Ossetia and the Russian Federation.”

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The development will come as a blow to Moscow, which had earlier expressed hopes that Gagloev would ensure “continuity” in South Ossetia’s ties with Russia, in a manner similar to that of his predecessor.

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The news also comes at a time when Russia has intensified its offensive on the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine, where two self-proclaimed independent republics recognised by Moscow – the Luhansk People’s Republic and the Donetsk People’s Republic – are vying to join Russia.