International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia Russian Federal Assembly for official recognition of their independence as sovereign states. South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity flew to Moscow on 23 August 2008 to address the Federation Council of Russia, and in his appeal stated "what the Georgian leadership has done in South Ossetia can only be described as a Caucasian Stalingrad." On 25 August 2008, President of Abkhazia Sergei Bagapsh also made a presentation to the Federation Council. In his address to the Council, Bagapsh stated "I can say for certain that Abkhazia and South Ossetia will never be [a] part of Georgia." After hearing the aforementioned appeals
International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia was threatening them or putting them in a position where they had to secede. On the contrary, Belgrade even went so far as to refrain from exerting any military or economic pressure on Pristina." In October 2009, Dmitry Medvedev said that parallels between Kosovo and South Ossetia are "inappropriate". "We are categorically against drawing parallels between the Balkan events and the events in the Caucasus," he said. "As concerns South Ossetia – it’s our unambiguous, absolutely clear position – it about repelling direct military aggression. And what was done by Russia after that, was done in full accordance with the