Russia’s lower house of Parliament, the State Duma, on March 21 passed a resolution calling on the Kremlin to consider “the expediency of recognizing the independence” of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Russian news agencies reported.

The non-binding resolution also calls on the Russian president “to intensify efforts aimed at the protection of the security of citizens of the Russian Federation, residing on the territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.”

It also calls for consideration of “the possibility of the reinforcement of the [Russian] peacekeeping troops in the Georgian-Abkhaz and Georgian-Ossetian conflict zones.”

The resolution also reads: “The process of recognition of Kosovo is against the principles of international norms… [Abkhazia and South Ossetia], which have built democratic states with all of their attributes have much more justification to be internationally recognized than Kosovo.”

The resolution is a revised version of an initial draft which said that Russia should consider recognizing the two breakaway regions if Georgia were given NATO membership, or if Tbilisi resumed hostilities against the two regions.