Anatoly Bibilov, de facto President of Tkhinvali Region, participated in the 5th Yalta International Economic Forum held in Crimea annexed by Russia. Within the framework of the visit, Bibilov  assessed annexation of Crimea by Russia as an absolutely legitimate decision. According to him, Tskhinvali Region should follow the Crimea path and join Russia.

Within the framework of the Forum, Bibilov and Sergey Aksyonov, de facto Leader of annexed Crimea,  signed agreement on cooperation and the plan of cooperation implementation for 2019-2022. Also, Alan Kochiev, de facto Mayor of Tskhinvali, and Nikolay Gusakov, Chairman of Kerchi City Council, signed the cities commonwealth agreement.

Starting from 2015 the forum is annually held in Yalta. This year, the forum is planned for April 18-20.