On December 27, Dmitry Volvach, the Deputy Minister of the Economic Development of the Russian Federation, said the Tskhinvali region would benefit from applying the customs code of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the de-facto Press Office of the separatist South Ossetia/Tskhinvali Region government reported.

He claimed that when the commodities go from Russia to the occupied region, using similar regulations would significantly speed up and simplify customs clearance operations.

"Customs tariffs are a different topic. Here, we will observe and progressively debate the harmonization problem to ensure that it is most advantageous to the economy and has no unfavorable impacts. The parties agreed right away to consider this matter later," Volvach said.

Earlier, on November 8, Caucasus Watch reported that the de-facto foreign ministers of the separatist South Ossetia/Tskhinvali Region and occupied Abkhazia, Inal Ardzinba and Akhsar Jioev, met in Moscow. Tskhinvali stated that Russia's assistance to the political and socioeconomic development of the republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, as well as the Russian efforts to preserve calm in the region, were greatly appreciated.