Nauru's foreign minister, Kirene Keke, made the announcement in South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali on Saturday, Kommersant newspaper reported today.
Kirene Keke said that Nauru's parliament would consider the issue at its winter session. He acknowledged at a meeting with South Ossetia's foreign minister, Murat Dzhioyev, and parliamentary speaker Stanislav Kochiyev that recognition of Ossetia's independence "is the only thing that one of the world's poorest countries can do to help the young South Caucasus republic in overcoming its problems", Kommersant said.
The minister met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on 10 December before his Ossetian trip. He asked for up to $50m in aid for "urgent socio-economic projects", Kommersant said, citing sources in the Russian Foreign Ministry.
This is relatively cheap, as Nauru received $130m in aid from China in 2002 for refusing to recognize Taiwan. Nauru reconsidered its position in 2005 and recognized Taiwan in exchange for more aid, Kommersant said.
Kirene Keke was expected to travel to Sukhumi, sources in Tskhinvali told Kommersant, so Nauru may also be considering recognition of Abkhazia.
Nauru is the world's smallest island nation, covering just 21 square kilometres with a population of 14,000.
Kommersant
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