AP, Moscow :Russia tightened its control Wednesday over a second breakaway region of Georgia, with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leader of South Ossetia signing a new treaty that calls for nearly full integration.Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili denounced the signing as a “destructive” move against his nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and said it would further exacerbate tensions. The United States, the European Union and NATO also strongly condemned the signing.South Ossetia broke away from Georgia in the early 1990s as the Soviet Union collapsed. Russia effectively gained complete control over it and a second breakaway Georgian region, Abkhazia, after a brief war against Georgia in 2008.A similar treaty was signed last year with Abkhazia. Both regions depend on subsidies from Russia. While Abkhazia is a lush sliver of land along the Black Sea coast, South Ossetia sticks like a thumb into northern Georgia.Under the agreement signed Wednesday in the Kremlin, South Ossetia’s military and economy are to be incorporated into Russia’s. The treaty also promises to make it easier for South Ossetians to get Russian citizenship and to raise salaries for civil servants and state pensions.Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty with Georgia’s rebel South Ossetia region that almost completely integrates it with Russia, alarming Georgia and the West a year after Moscow took over Crimea.Western leaders fear Russia is becoming increasingly expansionist and may try to take control of other regions in former Soviet states, including separatist-held territory in eastern Ukraine, though Moscow denies this. Russian troops also protect a self-proclaimed independent region in Moldova.The United States and the European Union denounced the new treaty with South Ossetia.”The United States’ position on South Ossetia and Abkhazia remains clear: these regions are integral parts of Georgia, and we continue to support Georgia’s independence, its sovereignty, and its territorial integrity,” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the signing would be “yet another step” against “ongoing efforts to strengthen security and stability in the region”.Despite Wednesday’s celebrations, some people in Crimea are disappointed by the first year of Russian rule since the Black Sea peninsula, home to Russia’s Black Sea fleet, was handed to Ukraine by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in 1954.Putin told a meeting on the economic development of Crimea that people were worried by low wages, high unemployment, the poor condition of roads and the state of housing, communal services and education.South Ossetia’s fate since Russia took it over in 2008 is also a cautionary tale. Its people saw Russia as a savior after the war but the region is poor, roads are bad and unemployment is widespread. It is also almost entirely dependent on Russia for financial, political and military support and many of its people are frustrated with life under Russia’s wing. Moscow says it has poured in 43 billion rubles ($700 million) at current rates, but independent organizations say much of this has been lost in corruption.Russia has had occasional difficulty maintaining political control in South Ossetia. A presidential election there was declared invalid in 2011 after the candidate backed by the Kremlin lost and accused his opponent of violations. Tibilov, the region’s former KGB chief, won the rerun election in 2012. Tibilov hailed the agreement, which will make it easier for the people of South Ossetia to gain Russian citizenship, as “the best possible guarantee of state security”. He said EU and U.S. officials should mind their own business.
