Russia to strengthen its support of South Ossetia

The today's meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with the South-Ossetian leader Leonid Tibilov has resulted in several agreements on the further development of South Ossetia, including Russia's increased financial support.

In the course of the meeting, Mr Putin has recollected the events that preceded Mr Tibilov's election as the head of the republic, and expressed the hope that the situation will soon become completely normal, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

The two presidents have agreed to cooperate in various areas, including the regional security and "strengthening the force component of South Ossetia". They have planned cooperation in the areas of public health, education and agriculture, the "Rossiyskaya Gazeta" writes.

As for direct financial support, the Russian President has noted that within 2.5 years about 9 billion roubles have been invested into the economy of South Ossetia. "The scale of the problem is probably greater than could be done even for the lot of money allocated by Russia," Mr Putin has added.

In 2011-2013, the Russian government had planned to allocate 8.5 billion roubles, but now, apparently, the amount will be increased, the "Gazeta.Ru" reports.