Venezuela recognises rebel Georgian regions

MOSCOW (AFP) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez delighted his Russian hosts on Thursday by announcing that Caracas was recognising the Georgian rebel regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent.
The shock decision which Chavez said was effective immediately was a triumph for Russia, which has struggled to convince other countries to follow its lead in granting diplomatic recognition to the two territories.
Venezuela from today is joining in the recognition of the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Chavez said during a visit to Russian President Dmitry Medvedevs residence outside Moscow.
We soon will begin actions to establish diplomatic relations with these countries.
Medvedev praised Chavezs move. Thank you, Hugo. Russia has always supported a countrys sovereign right to recognize or not recognize a states independence.
But of course we are not indifferent to the fate of these two states. Were very grateful, Medvedev said, as the two leaders sat in front of a fireplace for a public appearance before the start of closed-door negotiations.
Russia recognised the two rebel regions as independent in the wake of its war last year with Georgia, but most countries around the world condemned the move and still consider them part of Georgian territory.
Until Thursday only Nicaragua had joined Moscow in recognising the regions as independent. Like Venezuela, Nicaragua has a left-wing government friendly to Russia.
Abkhaz and South Ossetian separatists broke free of Georgian control in the early 1990s and enjoyed tacit support from Moscow for years, even though Russia did not formally recognise their independence until August 2008.
The recognition by Russia came after Moscow and Tbilisi fought a bitter five-day war over South Ossetia, plunging relations between Russia and the West post-Cold War low.