Russian law provides for the procedure of admitting countries to Russia as subjects, which requires the Ossetian people to express their will in a referendum, Andrey Klimov, ruling party member of Russian Duma and Deputy Chairman of the Commission for International Cooperation, was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.

According to him, there is no legal barrier to fulfilling the long-standing desire of the people of South Ossetia to join Russia.

"We have long known the desire of our neighbor, South Ossetia, to make its choice - to unite. Therefore, in my opinion, when all legal formalities are observed, there will be legal barrier to fulfilling the long-standing desire of the people of South Ossetia - to become part of Russia. We are waiting for these procedures to be completed. We have processed all the necessary legal issues as far back as 20 years ago," Klimov said.