Nauru has withdrawn its recognition of Georgia’s Russia-occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali/South Ossetia regions as “independent states” and terminated diplomatic relations with them with “immediate effect,” the government of the small Pacific island nation said on social media on July 30.
The statement came a day after Georgia’s Foreign Ministry said Nauru had cut diplomatic ties with Sokhumi and Tskhinvali on July 21. Tbilisi welcomed the move and expressed readiness to establish diplomatic ties with Nauru, while Sokhumi said it regretted what it described as a “forced decision.” Tskhinvali has yet to comment.
The July 30 statement by the government of Nauru, which recently changed its name to the Republic of Naoero, confirms that, in addition to cutting diplomatic ties with Georgia’s Russia-occupied regions, it also reversed its 2009 decisions to recognize them as “independent states.”
Following Nauru’s move, only four countries continue to recognize Abkhazia and Tskhinvali/South Ossetia as independent states: Russia, Syria, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. Vanuatu and Tuvalu previously recognized them but withdrew their recognition in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
Calls have repeatedly been made to Syria’s interim authorities after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024 to reverse the recognition.
The latest push came from Lithuania, which said the EU’s readiness to work with Syria’s new leadership to ensure respect for international law and the UN Charter would include revoking “Assad-era decisions that recognized violations of Ukraine and Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” The remarks left Sokhumi and Tskhinvali dismayed.
