MOSCOW, January 24. /TASS/. Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, ratified on Wednesday an agreement on the procedure of integrating South Ossetian separate military units into the Russian Armed Forces.

The document was signed in Moscow on March 31, 2017. Under the agreement, South Ossetians, who have Russian citizenship, reside in the republic and are liable for military duty, may be recruited for contract service in the Russian army. The document says that sending them to the Russian military base in South Ossetia will be on a voluntary basis.

Upon concluding such a contract, a citizen must be discharged from military service in the South Ossetian armed forces and his further active duty will be regulated by the Russian legislation.

The agreement on integrating some units of the South Ossetian Defense Ministry into the Russian Armed Forces is an additional document under the Treaty on Allied Relations and Integration signed by the presidents of both countries on March 18, 2015.