South Ossetian president says his republic intends to join Russia

MOSCOW. March 30 (Interfax) - South Ossetian President Anatoly Bibilov has said that his republic intends to take legal steps to initiate the process of joining Russia in the near future.

Bibilov's statement was quoted by the press service for the United Russia party in a statement issued on Wednesday.

"I believe that unification with Russia is our strategic goal. Our way. The people's aspiration. We will move along this path. We will take relevant legal steps in the near future. The Republic of South Ossetia will be part of its historical homeland - Russia," the statement said.

The Ossetian people are divided, and their historical and strategic goal is "unification within one state," Bibilov said.

"This state is the Russian Federation," Bibilov said.

"This goal has been outlined by our people repeatedly, and we had the opportunity to make our centuries-old dream come true in 2014, when Crimea returned to its native harbor. We missed our chance then, but we can't let that happen again," he added.