(Source: Daily News Bulletin; Moscow - English)
TSKHINVALI. Oct 9 (Interfax) - South Ossetia's accession to the Union of Belarus and Russia is virtually a done deal, South Ossetian parliamentary deputy speaker Yury Dzitstsoity told Interfax.
"A meeting of the Union's parliament will take place in Belarus on October 16-17, and South Ossetia will attend it as a guest. We will bring an address with us, in which we ask for being admitted as a permanent member. All that has to be done is the observance of all phases of this process," Dzitstsoity said.
The South Ossetian parliament has already drawn up all the necessary documents, he said.
However, South Ossetia cannot join the Union if is not recognized by at least one of its members, Dzitstsoity said. "Parliamentary elections have just been held in Belarus, and organizational routine is underway there now. They promised to recognize us as soon as this is finished and they hold their first working session, and then we will have all reasons to expect to become a permanent member of the Union," Dzitstsoity said.
Belarus' support matters a lot to South Ossetia, he said.
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