South Ossetia prepares to add ‘Alania’ to its name

Leonid Tibilov. (RES.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–The leader of the breakaway region South Ossetia has ordered a proposal to be put before the elected assembly about changing the entity’s name to South Ossetia – Alania.

Along with the proposed name change, a referendum is planned about joining the Russian Federation, with the goal being to merge with the Russian republic called North Ossetia – Alania.

“There are two different nations and two parts of Ossetia: the republic of South Ossetia and the Republic of North Ossetia – Alania. We want to unite the two nations. This is a dream of the century of our nation,” Leonid Tibilov, the de facto president, said on Tuesday.

“The world has to know that there is a problem with a divided nation,” he said, and expressed hope that in the future, both Ossetias will be in Russia, which is ‘the dream of the people.’

The date of the referendum is not yet set, but it will be carried out before the de facto presidential election in April, 2017.