The prime minister of the Georgian breakaway region of South Ossetia stepped down on Monday, paving the way for a Russian technocrat to take up the post following the recent ratification of a major integration agreement with Moscow.
South Ossetia’s Moscow-backed president, Alan Gagloyev, accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Dzambolat Tadtoyev during a cabinet meeting.
While Gagloyev temporarily appointed one of Tadtoyev’s deputies as interim prime minister, he announced plans to submit the candidacy of Marat Kambolov to local lawmakers for a confirmation vote.
The leadership shuffle comes on the heels of an agreement ratified last month by Russian President Vladimir Putin, which seeks to align South Ossetia’s laws closer to Russia’s.
Under the deal, Moscow commits to providing social support benefits to the local population and boosting living standards. Putin emphasized the trade, economic and social cooperation of the arrangement, while Gagloyev hailed it as “the beginning of the reunification of the Ossetian people.”
