South Ossetia, with a population of 70,000, has close ties to the neighboring region of North Ossetia in Russia and once had the status of an autonomous region within Georgia.
By Johanna Popjanevski (07/09/2008 issue of the CACI Analyst) By: Ben Smith August 9, 2008 04 On Thursday 14 August 2008 the President of the unrecognized republic of South Ossetia, Eduard Kokoity, told a news conference in Moscow that only Russian peacekeepers will be stationed in South Ossetia