Russia Formally Recognizes Georgia Rebel States

Russia’s Parliament approved resolutions on Monday calling on the Kremlin to recognise two rebel regions of Georgia as independent states, a step Washington said would be "unacceptable."

The United States, at odds with Moscow over its military intervention in Georgia, also accused Russia of failing to honour a ceasefire agreement by keeping a large military presence in Georgia’s heartland.

Both houses of Russia’s Parliament, controlled by Kremlin loyalists, swiftly endorsed non-binding resolutions urging President Dmitry Medvedev to recognise the pro-Moscow breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

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.

August 7: After mutual bombardments of towns in both Georgia and South Ossetia, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili orders a cease-fire. But in a surprise move, his forces then attack Tskhinvali, the South Ossetian capital. According to Georgian accounts, this began after Russian forces were already moving from North Ossetia towards South Ossetia through the Roki tunnel.