South Ossetia South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast. In the wake of the 2008 war, Georgia and a significant part of the international community consider South Ossetia to be occupied by the Russian military. South Ossetia relies heavily on military, political and financial aid from Russia. Russia does not allow the European Union Monitoring Mission to enter South Ossetia. South Ossetia, Transnistria, Artsakh, and Abkhazia are sometimes referred to as post-Soviet "frozen conflict" zones. The territory of contemporary South Ossetia was part of the kingdom of Iberia, the latter was unified under the single Georgian monarchy in 11th-century, extending its possessions up to Dvaleti.
Foreign relations of South Ossetia August 26, 2008, Russia became the first UN member state to recognize South Ossetia. Russia plans on building an embassy in Tskhinval. On May 29, 2018, Syria became the latest UN member state to recognize South Ossetia. On July 22, 2018, during the state visit of President Anatoly Bibilov to Damascus, South Ossetia and Syria have signed an agreement on establishing diplomatic ties. South Ossetia and Turkey have no official relations. Although, the South Ossetian foreign minister attended a festival of Ossetian culture in Turkey in August 2018. Around 50,000 Ossetians live in Turkey. On September 10, 2009, Venezuela became