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Abkhaz President Sergei Bagapsh (left) with South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity

SUKHUMI (Tiraspol Times) - South Ossetia, which has declared independence from Georgia, formally opened an embassy on Tuesday in the capital of the other unrecognized ex-Georgian republic, Abkhazia.

The diplomatic event took place in Sukhumi, news agency RIA Novosti reported. It was attended by South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity on an official visit at the invitation of Abkhaz President Sergei Bagapsh. The foreign ministers of the two republics, Sergei Shamba and Murad Dzhioyev, also took part in the opening ceremony.

" - The embassy's work will add dynamism to bilateral cooperation between Abkhazia and South Ossetia," Bagapsh said.

" - The two republics have common tasks - to gain independence," the president of South Ossetia said in turn. "We have matured, we are evolving, and we do not have to be led by the arm, like Kosovo."

Seeking diplomatic recognition

The Custom Services and Chambers of Commerce of both unrecognized countries also signed cooperation agreements during the visit, according to RIA Novosti.

Abkhazia and South Ossetia proclaimed independence from Georgia following the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991. One year earlier, while both were still in the Soviet Union, Transdniestria declared independence from Moldova on 2 September 1990. Moldova followed with its own unilateral declaration only in 1991.

The three ex-Soviet breakaway states have stepped up their quest for diplomatic recognition since Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence on 17 February 2008. Abkhazia and South Ossetia, along with Moldova's Transdniestria, have since asked Russia's parliament, the United Nations and other organizations to recognize their independence.

South Ossetia has no embassy yet in Transdniestria (officially: Pridnestrovie) but currently maintains a Consulate in the country's capital, Tiraspol. (With information from RIA Novosti)

See also:
» Abkhazia, South Ossetia to UN: "We're next" [1]
» Condoleezza blasts South Ossetia's independence: "It’s not going to happen" [2]
» Putin: Russia will support Abkhazia, South Ossetia [3]