Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia appealed to the United Nations, European, and Russian leaders to recognize its independence, citing Kosovo as a precedent.

“There’s nothing unusual in what we’re asking for,” head of the South Ossetian government’s press department, Irina Gagloyeva, said by telephone from Tskhinvali, capital of the self-proclaimed republic. “If Kosovo can declare independence and win international recognition, then South Ossetia has the same right.” A second separatist Georgian republic, Abkhazia, planned yesterday to send an appeal to Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and the parliament to recognize its independence, head of the Abkhaz Foreign Ministry’s press office, Irakli Tuzhba, said by telephone from the capital, Sukhumi.

President Saakashvili of Georgia has accused Russia of backing separatist regimes in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Both regions broke away during wars in the 1990s and have pro-Russian leaderships and Russian peacekeepers. Mr. Saakashvili has pledged to bring them back under federal control. Most of their citizens hold Russian passports.

The Transnistria region of Moldova has also declared independence.

Georgia’s minister for reintegration issues, Temur Iakobashvili, said South Ossetia’s independence appeal wasn’t “serious.”

“They’ve been claiming independence and celebrating it since the early 1990s, knowing full well that Russia can’t recognize their independence,” Mr. Iakobashvili said by telephone.