Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson on Tskhinvali/South Ossetia

Occupied Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia “has succeeded as a sovereign state and achieved important accomplishments in governmental system formation, as well as in economic and social development,” Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a news briefing on September 17, on the occasion of “Republic Day” celebrated in Georgia’s Kremlin-backed region.

This, Spokesperson Zakharova said, is evidenced by the repeated “free expression of the will” of South Ossetians through various level ”elections with democratic voting procedures” as well as its “twofold growth of GDP over the past 6 years.”

Noting that Russia “actively contributes to the strengthening of the foreign policy positions of South Ossetia and the expansion of its international ties,” Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson said “we are confident that apart from Russia, Abkhazia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Nauru, Tuvalu* and Syria, the list of the countries that observe the new geopolitical realities in Transcaucasia without bias will successively expand further.”

Moscow recognized the independence of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia on August 26, 2008, two weeks after the end of the Russo-Georgian war. Syria, Venezuela, Nauru, and Nicaragua are the only other nations that recognize the two regions’ independence from Georgia. Tbilisi and most of the international community regard the two regions as part of Georgia.

* Contrary to Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson’s claim, Tuvalu retracted its recognition of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions in 2014 – Civil.ge’s editorial note.

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