Putin signs deal aligning Russia to South Ossetia
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RUSSIA yesterday signed a wide-ranging alliance with Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia that will further cement its control over the territory despite fierce condemnation from the West.
President Vladimir Putin inked a deal in Moscow with South Ossetian leader Leonid Tibilov that officially makes Russia responsible for defending the republic, where the Kremlin has stationed thousands of troops since a war with Georgia there in 2008.
Under the “alliance and integration” treaty, Russia’s security forces, military and customs services will be integrated with South Ossetia’s.
Russia will also protect the borders of the tiny region of about 50,000 people.
Tibilov hailed the treaty, which will be in force for 25 years and make it easier for the people of South Ossetia to gain Russian citizenship, as a historic step.
The signing of the controversial pact came as Russia marked a year to the day since Putin signed off on the annexation of Ukraine’s Black Sea republic of Crimea in a move slammed by Kiev and the West.
Putin hailed the “landmark” agreement after the signing ceremony in the Kremlin, saying it will bind Russia and South Ossetia even closer together.
“A joint defense and security zone will be created between our two countries, our customs agencies will be integrated and border crossings for our citizens will be open,” Putin said.
Officials in pro-Western Georgia have blasted the pact — similar to one sealed between Moscow and a second separatist enclave Abkhazia last year — as a “de facto annexation” of its territory.
“This step made against the territorial integrity of a sovereign state worsens the situation created as a result of the occupation and brings it to the level of an annexation,” said Georgia’s President Giorgi Margvelashvili.
“It is outrageous (Russia) responds with destructive actions to Georgia’s efforts to find meaningful ways to settle the existing problems.”
European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the treaty will destabilize the volatile region.
“The signature by the Russian Federation of a so-called ‘Treaty on Alliance and Integration’ with Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia ... will be yet another step that goes against ongoing efforts to strengthen security and stability in the region,” she said.
Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke from Georgia following civil wars in the 1990s after the breakup of the Soviet Union.
Moscow officially recognized their independence after fighting a five-day war with Georgia in 2008.
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