Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has criticized the July 17 referendum in Tskhinvali Region.

“From a legal standpoint the phrasing suggests that Tskhinvali is considering the creation of some third state together with Russia.

“If we are serious about [annexation], then we need to finalize this issue legally. We need to think a little bit about the wording from a legal point of view”, - said Peskov.

He reiterated that “no steps have been taken in this case from the Russian side in this regard and are not planned”.