- Russia gets control of rebel regions' borders
- Pacts signed for South Ossetia, Abkhazia
MOSCOW, April 30 (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed pacts on Thursday that give Moscow control over the de facto borders of Georgia's rebel regions.
He signed the documents at a ceremony in the Kremlin with the leaders of the rebel regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which were both recognised by Moscow as independent states after a brief war with Georgia last year.
A Kremlin official said on Wednesday the pacts were to increase security cooperation and strengthen their borders.
"The Abkhaz side, until it forms its own border guard forces, delegates authority for guarding its state borders to the Russian Federation in the interests of ensuring its own security," according to a copy of one of the pacts seen by Reuters. A similar pact was signed with South Ossetia.
The war soured Russia's relations with the West and disagreements over Georgia are likely to become a sticking point in efforts by Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama to improve ties.
Russia has objected to NATO's plans to stage military exercises in Georgia next month, saying they send the wrong signal to Tbilisi and could destabilise the region.
(Reporting by Oleg Shchedrov, writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Amie Ferris-Rotman, edited by Richard Meares)