Original sentence: South Ossetia (  or  ; , Khussar Iryston; , Yuzhnaya Osetiya; , Samxret Oseti) is a disputed region and partly recognized state in the South Caucasus, located in the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic
Edited sentence: South Ossetia (  or  ; , Khussar Iryston; , Yuzhnaya Osetiya; , Samxret Oseti) refers to the Republic of South Ossetia, a disputed region and partly recognized state in the South Caucasus, located in the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic