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Russia may recognize Georgia's separatist regions

By Agence France-Presse | Monday, August 25, 2008

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MOSCOW — MOSCOW - Russia's parliament meets Monday to consider recognizing Georgia's two breakaway regions as independent, nearly three weeks after Russian troops rolled into the neighbouring republic.

Recognition would mean crossing a threshold for Moscow, which has backed the separatists in Abkhazia and South Ossetia since their break with Tbilisi in the early 1990s but stopped short of declaring them independent from Georgia.

Both houses of Russia's parliament are to convene emergency sessions to examine appeals for recognition from South Ossetia -- where fighting this month prompted Russia to send troops -- and Abkhazia.

Abkhazia and South Ossetia are internationally recognized as part of Georgia and a move to declare them independent countries is sure to anger Tbilisi and fuel the crisis in relations between Russia and the West.

The parliament of Abkhazia formally asked Moscow for recognition last week while South Ossetia's leader Eduard Kokoity traveled to Moscow at the weekend to present a similar request.

President Dmitry Medvedev last week signaled Moscow was ready to consider such a move, saying Russia would "make the decision which unambiguously supports the will of these two Caucasus peoples."

"I cannot rule out that the State Duma will appeal to the country's leadership to recognize the independence of Abkhazia," Oleg Morozov, deputy speaker of the State Duma lower house of parliament, was quoted as saying by Interfax.

But the real decision lies with the Kremlin rather than with Russia's compliant parliament.

If Moscow recognizes the two regions, the next steps are less clear -- but one possibility is outright annexation, under a 2001 law that allows states to join Russia if both sides agree.

South Ossetia in particular has lobbied hard to join Russia so it can be united with the Russian republic of North Ossetia, home to the same Ossetian ethnic group.