TBLISI -- The new de facto leader of Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia has suspended a referendum on joining the Russian Federation announced by his predecessor.
Alan Gagloyev said on May 30 that the decree on holding the referendum had been suspended until consultations with Moscow were complete.
"Consultations are being held with the Russian side on a wide range of issues related to the further integration of the Republic of South Ossetia and the Russian Federation," the decree of the new de facto leader says.
Gagloyev's decree on "ways of further integration of the Republic of South Ossetia and the Russian Federation" refers to "the uncertainty of the legal consequences of the issue." It also cites the "inadmissibility of a unilateral decision to hold a referendum."
On May 13, South Ossetia's former de facto leader, Anatoly Bibilov, signed a decree on holding the referendum, setting July 17 as the date.
Russia recognized South Ossetia and another region, Abkhazia, as independent countries after fighting a brief war against Georgia in 2008. Moscow maintains thousands of troops in both regions.
Bibilov cited the people's "historical aspiration" to join Russia as justification for holding the referendum.
Bibilov had said on March 30 that the mountainous region of around 60,000 people would take imminent measures to join Russia, which it borders.
Bibilov was defeated on May 8 by Gagloyev in a runoff for the leadership of South Ossetia in a vote that Georgia, the European Union, and the United States all dismissed as bogus.