 Medvedev says Russia may annex Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council and former president of the Russian Federation, has said Russia may annex the occupied Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Medvedev said this in his article in the Kremlin-aligned newspaper Argumenti i Fakti. The idea of joining Russia is still popular in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. It's quite possible it will be implemented. Should there be good reasons for doing so, he added. While relations between Moscow and Tbilisi have improved in recent years, Medvedev accused the West of creating tensions around Georgia by raising the issue of its possible accession to NATO. We will not wait for our fears to become closer to reality, he stressed. Referring to the possible annexation of Georgian territories, Medvedev also claimed that Russia's recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in 2008, when he was president, was in line with the will of the peoples of these countries, the UN Charter and its enshrined historical justice. Georgia officials have repeatedly said they are committed to joining the United States-led NATO military alliance, viewing it as a way to preserve the territorial integrity of their country. Georgia lost control over the Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Moscow recognized the independence of the two regions in 2008, following Georgia's attempt to regain control of South Ossetia by force, which led to a Russian counterattack that saw Moscow's forces briefly occupy Georgian territory. Russia declared the annexations for provinces of Ukraine in September last year, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kursan and Zaporizia, but none of the annexations are recognized internationally.