Georgian breakaway territory sets July 17 referendum on joining Russia -Tass

(Reuters) -The president of the Georgian breakaway area of South Ossetia on Friday introduced the territory would maintain a referendum on July 17 on whether or not to turn out to be a part of Russia, Tass information company stated.

Moscow acknowledged South Ossetia and the coastal area of Abkhazia as impartial after combating a struggle with Georgia in 2008. It has offered intensive monetary assist, provided Russian citizenship to their populations and stationed hundreds of troops there.

Tass stated President Anatoly Bibilov made the announcement in a decree. The small largely mountainous area has a inhabitants of round 60,000 and borders North Ossetia, which is a part of Russia.

Bibilov stated on March 30 that South Ossetia would take steps within the close to future to hitch Russia, prompting Georgia to denounce the concept of a referendum as unacceptable.

As within the Russian-speaking Donbas area of japanese Ukraine, Moscow has used recognition of the breakaway areas, and the awarding of citizenships, to take care of an armed presence in an space of the previous Soviet Union that it sees as a part of its pure sphere of affect.

In Ukraine, Russia’s long-standing assist for armed separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk gave it a platform to launch a large-scale navy invasion on Feb. 24.

(Reporting by Kevin Liffey and David Ljunggren; Modifying by Chris Reese and Invoice Berkrot)