Georgia's South Ossetia Conflict - Political Commentary

[Jedburgh]

FIIA, 24 March 2015: The New Alliance and Integration Treaty Between Russia and South Ossetia: When Does Integration Turn into Annexation?

....does the new Alliance and Integration Treaty really change anything on the ground? True, the new treaty partly codifies – and thus cements – the already existing reality. However, the biggest change involves the border between South Ossetia and Russia – which is officially still the border of Georgia and Russia. In practice, this border has now been abolished: border formalities and customs barriers are vanishing and Russia and South Ossetia form a “single space” (Articles 3 and 5). This is also a clever way to get around the fact that South Ossetia cannot formally join the Eurasian Economic Union as other members Kazakhstan, Belarus and Armenia have not recognized its independence....

This did not make much of a noise here in the US, although all of Western officialdom has registered their formal displeasure with Russia's "violation of Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in blatant contradiction to the principles of international law, OSCE principles and Russia’s international commitments."

[Ray]

Bye-Bye, Abkhazia, Crimea, South Ossetia!

On March 18, Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, and Leonid Tibilov, the separatist leader of South Ossetia...... signed a Russian–South Ossetian treaty of alliance and integration.

....accord is similar to the one Russia signed with Abkhazia....November 2014. That deal meant that in practice, Moscow would be responsible for the customs, defense, and security of the self-declared republic.......

http://carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope/?fa=59550 MARCH 30, 2015

And of course, Crimea.

East Ukraine hanging in between.