Helsinki Commission Senior Policy Advisor Michael Hikari Cecire echoed the announcement by Anatoly Bibilov, the so-called President of the occupied Tskhinvali region, on the unification of South Ossetia with Russia.

“Just a reminder that Bibilov, and his predecessors, have made this claim regularly for years that annexation was just around the corner. Obviously, this time it might be different, given the regional situation, but I wouldn’t call it a foregone conclusion either,” Michael Hikari Cecire wrote on Twitter.

Michael Hikari Cecire is a senior policy advisor at the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, where he focuses on the South Caucasus and Black Sea regional affairs.

Anatoly Bibilov, the so-called President of the Kremlin-occupied Tskhinvali region, said in his video address that his regime would take appropriate legal steps shortly to ensure unification with Russia.

Just a reminder that Bibilov, and his predecessors, have made this claim regularly for years that annexation was just around the corner. Obviously, this time it might be different, given the regional situation, but I wouldn’t call it a foregone conclusion either. https://t.co/6NEFiBNKR9

— Michael Hikari Cecire ?? (@mhikaric) March 30, 2022