South Ossetia South Ossetia South Ossetia (, ), officially the Republic of South Ossetia–the State of Alania, or The Tskhinvali Region, is a disputed territory in the South Caucasus, in the northern part of the internationally recognised Georgian territory. It has a population of 53,000 people who live in an area of 3,900 km, south of the Russian Caucasus, with 30,000 living in Tskhinvali. The separatist polity, Republic of South Ossetia (or the "State of Alania"), is recognised as a state by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, and Syria. While Georgia lacks control over South Ossetia, the Georgian government and most members of
Russia–South Ossetia relations travelled to South Ossetia on 21 July 2009, where they attended the opening of two rural police stations, and attended the signing of an interagency agreement between the two countries prosecutorial agencies. On 7 August 2009, Dmitry Medvedev in an interview for the documentary "In August 2008..." stated that Russia would continue to develop bilateral ties with South Ossetia "regardless of whether somebody likes it or not." The Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance which was signed in September 2008 came into force on 20 January 2009, and stipulates a Russian guarantee of military intervention in case South Ossetia