TSKHINVAL. April 4 (Interfax) - South Ossetia will keep its defense ministry, an additional agreement with Russia aimed at implementing the alliance and integration agreement, between the two countries' defense ministries, has been worked through and is undergoing internal ministerial procedures, the republic's president, Leonid Tibilov, told a press conference in Tskhinval on Monday.
Because having parts of the South Ossetian Armed Forces join the Russian army contradicts Russian law, the two countries will stipulate their admission into Russian units in additional agreements to their alliance and integration agreement, Tibilov said.
"In late February, our Security Council and Defense Ministry specialists actively worked through this issue with the Russian Defense Ministry, and determined that the clause in the agreement, whereby certain parts of the South Ossetian Armed Forces will move into the Russian army, does not meet the requirements of Russian laws. We decided to put into the text of the relevant additional agreement that our troops will be admitted to Russian Armed Forces units, in particular, the Russian military base in South Ossetia," the president said.
At this stage, it is too soon to say how many South Ossetian troops will join the Russian forces, he said.
"The main thing we have achieved is that the troops who will not be able to join the base will stay, and serve in our army that will remain in place," the president said.
Russia and South Ossetia signed the alliance and integration agreement on March 18, 2015. It provides a basis for the two countries to gradually establish closer cooperation, while allowing the republic to retain its state sovereignty.