Russia's parliament unanimously approved yesterday resolutions calling for the recognition of two rebel regions of Georgia as independent states, a move likely to worsen already strained relations with the West.

Both houses of parliament swiftly approved non-binding resolutions calling on President Dmitry Medvedev to recognize the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

The lower house, or State Duma, approved a second resolution calling on parliaments worldwide to back independence for the two regions, saying they had many more reasons than the former Serb province of Kosovo to aspire to international recognition.