Russian parliament backs independence for Georgia separatists

MOSCOW (AFP) -- Russian lawmakers voted Monday to recognize the independence of two breakaway Georgian regions.

With Russian troops still inside Georgia and tensions heightened by the arrival in a Georgian port of a U.S. warship carrying aid, Russia's upper house, the Federation Council, unanimously approved a resolution calling on President Dmitry Medvedev formally to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent from Georgia.

The lower house, the State Duma, was expected to vote similarly later Monday.

The two regions are internationally recognized as part of Georgia, where Russian troops rolled in on August 8 to fight off a Georgian offensive to retake South Ossetia.

The Abkhaz separatist leader, Sergei Bagapsh, said: ""Neither Abkhazia nor South Ossetia will ever again live in one state with Georgia.""

The appeal approved by the upper house was not binding and any final decision on Russian recognition rests with Medvedev.

The Russian president has signaled his support for independence, saying earlier this month that he would ""make the decision which unambiguously supports the will of these two Caucasus peoples.""

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili warned Russia's recognition of the two regions would have ""disastrous results."" In an interview with the French daily Liberation published Monday, he said such a move by Russia would amount to ""an attempt to change Europe's borders by force.""

Experts said Mevedev's next move was unclear.

Moscow's move to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia was seen as payback for the West's recognition of Kosovo this year despite vehement Russian objections.

Russia withdrew tanks, artillery and hundreds of troops from their most advanced positions in Georgia on Friday, saying it had fulfilled all obligations under the agreement.

But Russian troops still control access to the port city of Poti, south of Abkhazia, and have established other checkpoints around South Ossetia.

Moscow has backed the separatists in Abkhazia and South Ossetia since their break with Tbilisi in the early 1990s but had stopped short of declaring them independent from Georgia.

A U.S. Navy destroyer carrying relief supplies arrived at a Black Sea port in Georgia on Sunday in a sign of support for Georgia, which has been campaigning to join NATO and sent its U.S.-trained troops to Iraq.

The U.S.S McFaul dropped anchor off Batumi, 50 kilometers south of the Russian-occupied port of Poti, the first of three ships carrying aid to help Georgia deal with an estimated 100,000 displaced people.

A U.S. coastguard ship passed through the Turkish straits on Sunday en route for Georgia while the U.S.S Mount Whitney, flagship of the U.S. Mediterranean Sixth Fleet was to set sail for the Black Sea at the end of the month.

A top Russian general on Saturday accused NATO countries of using humanitarian aid as ""cover"" for a build-up of naval forces in the Black Sea.

Russian troops poured into South Ossetia on August 8 to repel a Georgian attempt to regain control of the breakaway region.

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