Georgian PM hopes referendum in occupied Tskhinvali on joining Russia “won’t have a continuation”

Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili on Wednesday said he hoped the recently announced referendum for Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region to join Russia would “not have a continuation”. 

Garibashvili said his Government should “always be mobilised” and have “close communication” with its international partners over the developments in its occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali.

I would like to express my hope that this [referendum] will certainly not have a continuation, but on the other hand, of course, we should not be complacent. We look at the developments of recent years. Of course, we must always be mobilised, [and] for this we need to communicate closely with our partners, to be in close coordination with them and to constantly exchange information,” Garibashvili told the local press.

The PM noted that the de facto authorities in Tskhinvali had previously made statements about holding a referendum to join Russia “many times”.

On March 30, the authorities in the Russian-occupied region declared they were set to hold a public referendum to join the Russian Federation.

On April 1, United States State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the US would not recognise the results of any effort by “Russia or its proxies” to “divide sovereign Georgian territory.”