TBILISI - RUSSIAN President Dmitry Medvedev announced on Tuesday he had signed a decree under which Russia formally recognises the rebel Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states.
Here are some facts about the two territories which declared independence from Georgia in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union.
- SOUTH OSSETIA South Ossetia, a territory of 70,000 inhabitants located in the Caucasus mountains, is a pro-Russian region separated from North Ossetia, which is in Russia, by the border between the two countries running high in the Caucasus.
Most of its citizens have a Russian passport and the local currency is the ruble. Most South Ossetians are Orthodox Christians.
Like Abkhazia, South Ossetia has been the site of a long-running 'frozen conflict' and until Tuesday its self-styled government had not been recognised by any other state.
The territory made determined efforts to obtain international recognition after the failure of the August 7-8 Georgian operation to take it back by force.
The conflict began in 1990 when South Ossetia declared itself a Soviet Republic, a move rejected by Georgia, which abolished the region's autonomous status.
Two referendums, in 1992 and 2006, demanding independence did not get international recognition.
- ABKHAZIA Abhazia has some 250,000 inhabitants, most of whom have a Russian passport.
It covers 8,600 square kilometres, and occupies slightly more than 12 per cent of Georgian territory.
Abkhazians are mainly Muslim, while the rest of Georgia is mainly Orthodox.
The region was known as a prime holiday destination for Russians and people from other former Soviet republics.
Abkhazia has been under the total control of separatists since on August 12 they chased Tbilisi's troops from the strategic Kodori Gorge, the only part of the breakaway region Georgia controlled.
An autonomous republic within Georgia, which was a former Soviet Republic from 1930, Abkhazia unilaterally proclaimed its independence in July 1992.
Tensions rose and in 1992 Georgia sent in troops to enforce the status quo.
In late 1993, they were driven out amidst fierce fighting. Several thousand people were killed and 250,000 people became refugees, according to Georgia.
The ceasefire accord reached in May 1994 has remained shaky and clashes have taken place regularly in the region. -- AFP