US condemns de facto Tskhinvali’s attempt to join Russia

An official representatives of the United States (US) Department of State has made it very clear America will never respect or recognise any attempy by Georgia’s eastern de facto Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region to conduct a referendum about joining Russia. 

At a briefing in the US yesterday, US Department of State spokesperson Mark Toner stressed his country supported Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its international recognised borders and the US never discussed breakaway Abkhazia and Tskhinvali as separate, independent republics. 

Our position to Georgia is the following: We support Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity that also covers South Ossetia. Consequently we don’t recognise the attempt of South Ossetia to gain independence or demand sovereignty, we don’t support this,” Toner said. 

Toner’s comments come hours after the leader of de facto Tskhinvali Leonid Tibilov said the breakaway area planned to hold a referendum next year about joining Russia. 

Almost all of the international community believed Tskhinvali and Abkhazia – two occupied regions of Georgia – are integral parts of Georgia. 

Russia and Nicaragua recognised the breakaway regions as independent republics in 2008 in the wake of the Russia-Georgia war. In 2009 Venezuela, Nauru and Tuvalu took the same step but after several years Vanuatu retracted its view.