Soob

Georgia pays two fold; First for it's West friendly policies, second for the overwhelming Western support for Kosovo's recent independence.

The Russian-backed region of Abkhazia appealed to the world community Friday to recognize it as independent from Georgia, citing Kosovo as a precedent.

In a unanimous resolution, Abkhazia's legislature called on the world community and the Russian Parliament to recognize it as an independent nation.

"The republic of Abkhazia has for 15 years successfully existed as an independent nation," the resolution said, citing Kosovo's independence as justification for the timing.

The appeal follows a nearly identical resolution earlier this week by another breakaway Georgian region, South Ossetia.

Both South Ossetia and Abkhazia have had de-facto independence since wars with Georgian forces in the 1990s. No country recognizes their governments, though Russia has tacitly supported their autonomy from Georgia, which has infuriated Moscow by increasingly aligned itself with the West.

Another Chapter in the Second Great Game, perhaps...