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Russia respects this choice

In the issue of joining South Ossetia and a referendum on this issue, we are talking about the choice of the people that Russia respects, said Dmitry Peskov, press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation.

"I cannot express any position on the accession and the referendum. We have not taken any legal or other actions in this regard, but at the same time, in this case, we are talking about expressing the opinion of the people of South Ossetia, and we respect them.," Peskov told reporters on Thursday.

Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation Alexander Bastrykin has positively assessed the initiative of the President of South Ossetia Anatoly Bibilov to hold a referendum on the possible entry of the Republic into Russia. This was reported to journalists in the press service of the Investigative Committee.

The head of North Ossetia, Sergei Menyailo, in connection with the intention of South Ossetia to take steps to join the Russian Federation, said that the Ossetians had never lost contact with each other, remaining a single nation.

Earlier, President of South Ossetia Anatoly Bibilov said that the Republic would soon take legal steps to become part of Russia. Bibilov has noted that the opportunity to realize this "strategic goal" was back in 2014, when Crimea was reunited with the Russian Federation following a referendum.

On Wednesday, the Tskhinval City Hall together with the representative office of Rossotrudnichestvo in the Republic organized a festive event for the guests from the Donetsk People's Republic.

For internally displaced persons from the DPR, a concert program was held in the city's House of Culture with the participation of the South Ossetian artists.

President of South Ossetia Anatoly Bibilov said that the Republic would continue to assist Russia's special military operation in the Donbass.

"We must understand that there is only one special military operation for everyone who considers themselves Russians. Russia is our historical homeland, this is our operation, we are united," he said on the air of the Rossiya 24 TV channel.

If South Ossetia joins the Russian Federation, it could become a single entity with North Ossetia, President of the Republic Anatoly Bibilov said.

The legislation of the Russian Federation provides for the procedure for admitting states into Russia as subjects, for this it is necessary that the Ossetian people express their will through a referendum, said Andrei Klimov, senator, Deputy Head of the United Russia Commission on International Cooperation.

Residents of Russia and South Ossetia will support the decision of the people of the Republic on its entry into the Russian Federation, said Artem Turov, Deputy Head of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots.

President of South Ossetia Anatoly Bibilov said that a referendum should be convened in the Republic to become part of Russia.

“In principle, everything is very clearly prescribed in the Constitution of the Republic of South Ossetia. Of course, we need to ask the opinion of the people, that is, to make sure that the people express their attitude towards joining the Russian Federation,” he said on the air of the program "Solovyov LIVE".

According to him, it is "not very difficult to do it " and it is possible to do it "without delay" over time.

President of South Ossetia, Anatoly Bibilov, spoke on the air of the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company "Ir" about the steps being taken to join South Ossetia into the Russian Federation.

"This is the age-old dream of our people, the strategic goal of our people, who have repeatedly shown their attitude to this issue at the referendums. Consultations are being held right now so that the steps that are being taken to join Russia are legally correct," the President said at the beginning of the third round of pre-election TV debates.