The European Union (EU) condemned on Tuesday the Russian decision to recognize the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two breakaway regions of Georgia.

In a statement by the EU's French presidency, the EU condemned the Russian move as the one "contrary to the principles of Georgia 's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, recognized by the United Nations Charter, the final Act of the conference on security and cooperation in Europe and the relevant (UN) Security Council Resolutions."

"In this context, the Presidency strongly recalls its commitment to the principle of Georgia's territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders," said the statement.

"The Presidency calls for a political solution to the conflicts in Georgia and will examine from this viewpoint the consequences of the Russian decision," it added.

Meanwhile, the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, also issued a statement, which said it "fully shares and supports" the EU French presidency's statement on the Russian act on Tuesday.

South Ossetia and Abkhazia broke from central Georgian rule during wars in the early 1990s after the collapse of the former Soviet Union. But their self-proclaimed independence is not recognized internationally.

(Xinhua News Agency August 27, 2008)