Russian President signs federal law ratifying dual citizenship with occupied Tskhinvali region
The agreement would enter into force on the day of exchange of ratification instruments by Russian officials and de facto authorities of Tskhinvali, and be valid for five years. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday signed a federal law ratifying an agreement on dual citizenship for residents of Georgia’s Russian-occupied region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).
The Georgian Public Broadcaster reported the deal involved allowing Russian nationals to obtain passports valid in the occupied region, with residents of Tskhinvali able to obtain Russian citizenship without renouncing their passports.
The agreement would enter into force on the day of exchange of ratification instruments by Russian officials and de facto authorities of Tskhinvali, and be valid for five years.
It would also be automatically renewed for a five-year period if neither party notified the other in writing, through diplomatic channels, of its intention to terminate it, six months before the end of the next five-year period.
Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said on Wednesday the European Union would consider the intended referendum in Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region on joining Russia “illegal” and not recognise it.
The de facto president of Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region on Friday announced the territory would hold a referendum on July 17 on whether to become part of Russia.
NATO does not recognise the legitimacy of the elections which took place on Sunday in the Russian-occupied Georgian region of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia), Javier Colomina, the NATO Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, said on Monday.
No referendum in Georgia's Russian-occupied regions will have" any legal force" under the conditions of the occupation, Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani said on Thursday in response to the information on the de facto authorities in the Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region planning to hold a referendum on joining the Russian Federation.