MOSCOW, March 17 (RIA Novosti) - Russia on Tuesday
signed agreements with Abkhazia and South Ossetia on giving the
republics financial aid in socio-economic development and
balancing their budgets.
The deals between the finance ministries provide for
Abkhazia to receive 2.36 billion rubles ($68 million) from the
Russian federal budget and South Ossetia 2.8 billion rubles
($81 million).
Russia recognized the former Georgian republics of South
Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states on August 26, 2008,
two weeks after the end of a five-day war with Georgia. The
conflict began when Georgian forces attacked South Ossetia in a
bid to bring it back under central control.
The Russian Finance Ministry said on Monday that the
agreements were based on the friendship, cooperation and mutual
assistance treaties that Russia and the two Caucasus republics
signed in Moscow on September 18, 2008.
The ministry said that despite the overall cuts in the federal
budget, the level of financial assistance to the republics had
not been reduced, and added that South Ossetia would also
receive 8.5 billion rubles ($246 million) to rebuild housing,
social amenities and utilities damaged as a result of the
August 2008 war.
Nicaragua has so far been the only other country to follow
Russia in recognizing South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
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