The Russian parliament has voted unanimously to ask the president to recognize Georgia's two breakaway regions as independent, the Associated Press reported. Monday's votes to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent from Georgia were not legally binding. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will make the final call on diplomatic recognition. The move follows intense fighting between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia. The unanimous vote by the parliament's lower chamber follows a similar vote by the upper house earlier in the day.
