Earlier, on May 13, Gaglov’s predecessor had signed a decree on holding a referendum to join Russia.
Tbilisi, Georgia:
The leader of Georgia’s detached region of South Ossetia on Monday scrapped plans to hold a referendum on joining Russia, which his predecessor had set for July 17.
South Ossetia was at the center of the 2008 Russo-Georgian War after which the Kremlin recognized the region as an independent state and deployed military bases there.
In a decree issued on Monday, Alan Gaglov, the president of the Moscow-controlled enclave, called for “the uncertainty of the legal consequences of an issue submitted for a referendum”.
The decree also emphasized the “incapability of a unilateral decision of a referendum on issues affecting the legitimate rights and interests of the Russian Federation”.
Gaglov ordered “consultation, without delay, with the Russian side on a whole range of issues relating to the further integration of South Ossetia and the Russian Federation”.
On May 13, Gaglov’s predecessor, Anatoly Bibilov, signed a decree on the referendum, citing the region’s “historic aspiration” to join Russia, his office said at the time.
Bibilov lost his bid for re-election earlier this month. Russia has expressed hope that Gaglov will maintain “continuity” in relations with Moscow.
Tbilisi has previously condemned as “unacceptable” plans by South Ossetia to hold a referendum on joining Russia.
– war crimes –
Monday’s announcement comes on the 96th day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, where Moscow-backed separatists in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions have also expressed interest in joining Russia.
The full-scale war against Ukraine has created a wave of solidarity in Georgia.
In August 2008, Russian forces launched an all-out offensive on Georgia, battling pro-Russian militias in South Ossetia, after shelling Georgian villages.
Fighting ended with an EU-mediated ceasefire five days later, but more than 700 people lost their lives and thousands of ethnic Georgians were displaced.
After the war the Kremlin recognized the independence of South Ossetia and another separatist region, Abkhazia, which has since been under Russian military control.
The conflict marked the culmination of tensions with the Kremlin over pro-Western Tbilisi’s bid to join the European Union and NATO.
In March, the Hague-based International Criminal Court prosecutor, Karim Khan, applied for arrest warrants for three current and former South Ossetian officers in connection with war crimes committed against ethnic Georgians.
The alleged offenses included torture, inhumane treatment, illegal detention, violation of personal dignity, hostage-taking and illegal transfer of people.
Last year, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russia was responsible for human rights violations after the war.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)