Breakaway Georgian Region Seeks to Be Putin’s Next Annexation
- South Ossetian leader to start legal process to join Russia
- Russia-backed separatists destabilize many post-Soviet nations
South Ossetia’s President Anatoly Bibilov
Photographer: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AFP/Getty Images
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The breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia will seek to join Russia, potentially leading to a new escalation in the Kremlin’s conflict with the West.
The self-declared republic of about 50,000 will start the legal process to become part of Russia, South Ossetia’s President Anatoly Bibilov said in a statement posted on the website of Russia’s ruling party.