Putin pledges constant help to South Ossetia president

Russia and South Ossetia have agreed to hold regular consultations in order to settle the Caucasus republic’s most pressing issues, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced after a meeting with his counterpart Leonid Tibilov.

“We are going to maintain constant working contacts… in the field of security, as well as social and economic areas,” Putin commented. He pointed out that in the last two and a half years, Moscow has allocated 9 billion roubles ($298.8 million) for the restoration of South Ossetia, and that another 8.5 billion roubles ($282.2 million) will be provided to the republic by 2013. The funds are allocated with the key aim of improving people’s living standards, Putin added. First and foremost, this implies the return and resettlement of refugees, he believes. At the same time, the Russian president noted that even this significant amount of financial help does not cover all the needs of South Ossetia.