The Georgian separatist region of South Ossetia has canceled a referendum planned for mid-July on joining Russia.
The new president of the pro-Russian enclave, Alan Gagloyev, canceled his predecessor's referendum plans on Monday.
In a decree, he stressed that it was not permissible to decide unilaterally by referendum on issues affecting the "legitimate rights and interests of the Russian Federation".
Instead, Gagloyev started talks with the government in Moscow about the “further integration” of South Ossetia.
Gagloyev's predecessor, Anatoly Bibilov, issued a decree about two weeks ago calling for a referendum on South Ossetia's accession to Russia, emphasizing that this corresponds to the "historic aspirations" of the people in the region.
Russia officially recognized the independence of the pro-Russian separatist region and neighboring Abkhazia in August 2008 after a brief military conflict with Georgia.
Since then, Russian forces have been stationed there.