MOSCOW, May 20. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted a treaty on alliance and integration between Russia and South Ossetia to the national parliament for ratification on Wednesday.
The document was posted on the website of the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament.
President Putin and his South Ossetian counterpart Leonid Tibilov signed a Treaty on Alliance and Integration in the Kremlin on March 18. The document was signed after talks between the heads of both states.
The Treaty envisages joint defense and security, free movement across the Russian-South Ossetian border, customs integration, cooperation between law-enforcement agencies, simplified procedures for obtaining Russian citizenship and social aspects, including pension payments.
Russia will ensure defense and security of South Ossetia and protect the country’s borders, according to the treaty. The treaty envisages forming a common defense and security space between Russia and South Ossetia, as well as free border crossing between Russia and South Ossetia, taking into account restrictions in place for security concerns.
The document stipulates that Moscow and Tskhinval will conduct a coordinated foreign policy.
The explanatory note says that "the agreement is a core document that confirms the intention of the sides to establish closer cooperation in social, economic and humanitarian spheres, as well as in defense and security step by step." "The document is fully in the interests of the Russian Federation. It is meant to serve as a basis for making separate agreements in the listed spheres," the note clarifies.
The signed treaty has an expiration period of 25 years and is subject to extension for 10 more years.