Newly elected de facto President of Tskhinvali: Putin combating Neo-Nazis in Ukraine

Alan Gagloev, who was elected de facto president of Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region last week, says that the issue of the region’s joining Russia would be raised as the latter has time for this, as “our strategic partner is combating Neo-Nazis in Ukraine at this moment.”  

“All the presidents of our republic have said that our vector is maximum integration with Russia. At the same time, we understand that this is not a one-sided process. Today we see that our strategic partner – the Russian Federation – is engaged in geopolitical issues, conducting special operations in Ukraine,” Gagloev said on Thursday. 

The issue of joining Russia was raised by incumbent de facto President Anatoly Bibilov shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine back in February. 

Bibilov lost the race with the opposition figure Gagloev, congratulating the latter on victory. 

Russia recognized Georgia’s Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions as independent states after the Russo-Georgia 2008 war. 

Only Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru and Syria have done the same since then, while the rest of the international community is unanimous that the regions are occupied by Russia.