The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the result of the November 12 referendum and presidential elections in South Ossetia “have met our expectations.”

“Voter turnout was 95,2%, which is quite high even for countries with 'well-established democracies'… A large group of independent observers from a number of states, including Poland, Austria, Germany, Ukraine, Baltic States, have been monitoring [the polls],” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

“Someone may like it or not, but we face the free will of the South Ossetian people expressed through democratic procedures. Regardless of Tbilisi’s and some of western countries’ attempts to downplay the importance of this event, it is still of a significant nature. It would be short-sighted not to at least take it into consideration,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has once again condemned the alternative polls held in the Georgian controlled areas of the breakaway region.

“We are sincerely sorry about the population of the Georgian villages of South Ossetia who have turned into hostages of adventurers that have organized parallel alternative elections in an attempt to foil the free expression of will during the only fair elections held in accordance to the local legislature,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.