Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register March 31 (Reuters) – Georgia said on Thursday that plans by the Russian-backed breakaway region of South Ossetia to hold a referendum on joining Russia were unacceptable, with the Kremlin saying no action had been taken to make it happen. . Moscow recognized the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent after the war with Georgia in 2008. It deployed thousands of troops in both regions and provided them with extensive financial support. Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani told the TASS news agency: “Of course, the debate on holding any kind of referendum (in South Ossetia) is unacceptable … when this territory in Georgia is occupied.” Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register A member of parliament for the ruling Georgian Dream party, Beka Davituliani, said South Ossetia’s plans were “challenging”, Interfax news agency reported. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov told reporters he could not comment on South Ossetia’s plans. “No legal action or any other action has been taken in this regard,” he said. “But at the same time we treat the expression of the people of South Ossetia with respect.” Washington, which has rejected what it calls the Russian occupation of parts of Georgia since 2008, will not recognize the results of any attempt by “Russia or its representatives” to divide Georgia, State Department spokesman Ned Price said. “Neither the de facto authorities nor the Russian government have the right to make decisions about the future of South Ossetia, which is part of Georgia,” Price told reporters, drawing parallels with Russia’s annexation of Crimea. in 2014 by Ukraine and recognition. secessionist areas in eastern Ukraine ahead of its February 24 invasion. Georgia’s other breakaway region, Abkhazia on the Black Sea coast, has said it supports South Ossetia ‘s ambitions but does not share its goal of joining Russia. Moscow has used diplomatic recognition as a means to maintain an armed presence in breakaway regions of the former Soviet Union that it considers part of its sphere of influence. In Ukraine, Russia’s longstanding support for armed separatists in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions has given it an incursion platform. Moscow calls its military action in Ukraine a “special operation” and the West denounces it as an unprovoked war. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Reuters. Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Grant McCool Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
