We want to unite with Russia, says South Ossetia president

TSKHINVALI, Georgia: A year after Russia and Georgia fought a war over South Ossetia, the leader of that enclave said he wanted to unite his people with Russia and called on the Kremlin to deploy more troops and weapons.

"My goal in life, my political goal, is to unite my people," the self-styled president, Eduard Kokoity, said this week in the enclave's capital Tskhinvali.

"We will build our own state, which will be in alliance with Russia, together with Russia and I am not excluding that one day, we will be part of Russia," he said. "The people of South Ossetia want to be united with Russia."