The agreement between Russia and South Ossetia on the settlement of issues of dual citizenship opens up enormous opportunities, said South Ossetian President Anatoly Bibilov.
“I would like to thank Russian President Vladimir Putin for such an attitude towards citizens who live on the territory of South Ossetia. We understand that not all residents of the Republic have Russian citizenship for various reasons. One of them: after the recognition of South Ossetia, we had interstate relations with Russia, which did not allow us to obtain citizenship in the same way as it was before the recognition,” the President said in a comment to the “Res” news agency .
He has noted that in 2018 the problematic issue was discussed during a meeting with the Russian leader.
“During our meeting, Vladimir Putin gave instructions to the relevant ministries and departments in Russia, and from my side - here, in the Republic. There was a lot of work going on in this direction. It was necessary to develop a document that would meet all the requirements of international law,” the head of state reminded.
He has added that citizens who were naturalized as a Russian citizen, will enjoy the same social guarantees that are in Russia, including maternity capital, child benefits, disability benefits, and the entire spectrum of social protection that operates in Russia.
“In addition, this is the implementation of the Agreement on Alliance and Integration, signed between our countries in 2015. This is one of those steps that contributes to the integration of South Ossetia into Russia,” Bibilov said.
According to him, he received many appeals from citizens with a request to help them in resolving the issue of acquiring citizenship.
“A special group was also created in Whats App, where users discussed this issue with me. Now they can be gladdened and congratulated on this wonderful news,” the President concluded.
The head of state expressed hope that the document will be ratified in autumn by the legislative bodies of Russia and South Ossetia.
“I hope that there will be no problems with the ratification of the document in our Parliament, given the incomprehensible demarches of some of the deputies that we have been facing for the past two years. I would like to believe that they will be imbued with responsibility, without getting hung up on some ambitions that pursue them and lead them nowhere,” Bibilov said.
The head of state has added that it is difficult to make decisions that are aimed at the well-being of people, and at the same time facing incomprehensible demarches of some of the deputies.
“It's hard for me to talk about this as a president and a voter. I think that we should put humanity at the forefront, and be worthy of our predecessors, because in the same hall of the Parliament, where screams are heard today, people who stood at the origins of the statehood of our Republic were sitting. They treated each other with respect and were speaking beautifully from the rostrum, even when there were disagreements between them,” the President said.
