Members of the Russian-backed Sokhumi and Tskhinvali authorities are on a long visit to Nauru, a tiny island nation in the Pacific Ocean and one of the three states besides the Russian Federation that has recognized the two regions.

The delegations, led by Daur Kove and Dmitry Medoev, “foreign ministers” of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, respectively, attended the January 31 celebrations marking Nauru’s 50th anniversary of independence.

Nauruan President Baron Waqa, who invited the two “foreign ministers” two months ago when he visited Abkhazia and Moscow, met with both Kove and Medoev on January 26. The latter also held a meeting with Peter Christian, President of the Federated States of Micronesia. 

Nauru, the world’s smallest independent nation, recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia in 2009. Russia, Venezuela and Nicaragua are the only other nations that recognize the two regions’ independence from Georgia.