Gagloev: not right time for referendum on joining Russia

A referendum on joining Russia will be held when Russia gives the appropriate signal, and it is not the right time to talk about the referendum in the conditions of the special military operation in Ukraine, Alan Gagloev, the new president of South Ossetia, announces today.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on May 8, the voting took place in the second round of the presidential election in South Ossetia. After counting 97% of the ballots, the Central Election Commission (CEC) reported that 54.2% of the votes were won by Alan Gagloev, the leader of the “Nykhas” Party, while 43.3% of the votes went for current president Anatoly Bibilov. On May 9, Anatoly Bibilov announced that the referendum on the entry of South Ossetia into Russia would take place. Earlier, he had recognized the victory of his opponent Alan Gagloev.

South Ossetia will hold a referendum on joining the Russian Federation when the right time comes, South Ossetian President-elect Alan Gagloev says today. “The point here is not that we need to unite, but what kind of mechanism we should use. We are well aware that in this situation, not everything depends on South Ossetia,” Alan Gagloev said on the air of the “Rossiya 24” TV Channel.

He has explained that the steps to hold the referendum should be coordinated with the authorities of Russia. “Today, we are closely following the geopolitical processes that are taking place, and we understand that the Russian Federation is conducting the special military operation in Ukraine. I think as soon as the right time comes, we will hold the referendum. South Ossetia has been and is ready today to join the Russian Federation,” reports the video recording of the live broadcast of the “Rossiya 24” TV Channel, posted today in the Alan Gagloev’s Telegram channel.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 11, 2022 at 01:05 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.