Opinion: If Russia annexes Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transdnestr, integration with former USSR republics can be given up for lost

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“If Russia decides to annex Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transdnestr, the integration with former USSR republics could be given up for lost, because by annexing the territories unrecognized by the international community, Russia will put under question legitimacy of other CIS countries recognized by the international community,” VCIOM Director Valery Fyodorov said at a news conference on December 7 called “Collapse of the USSR and new integration attitudes: what CIS countries’ citizens think about the former Soviet Union and prospects of the new alliance,” a REGNUM correspondent reports.

“So, in my opinion, it goes only about recognizing independence of those territories,” Fyodorov believes. “According to sociological polls, most Russians speak for it, who think that including those territories into the Russian Federation will become nothing but a burden and only recognizing their independence is enough.”