BELGRADE, Aug 26, 2008 (Xinhua via COMTEX News Network) -- Croatian President Stjepan Mesic expressed his concerns on Tuesday about the decision of the Russian Federation to recognize the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia from Georgia. 

"Such a decision makes the situation in that region more complicated," Mesic said in a statement. 

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced earlier on Tuesday he had decided to recognize the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia despite calls by Western powers for him to respect Georgia's territorial integrity. 

Mesic said that a fait accompli policy could create the impression that this move paved the way for avoiding negotiations on the future status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, although negotiations were stipulated in the agreement reached by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his Russian counterpart Medvedev. 

Mesic recalls that the formal and legal status of former autonomous provinces (autonomous Oblast) in the Soviet Union provides no legal grounds for the precedence of the right to self- determination over the right to preserve the territorial integrity of internationally recognized countries. 

Also on Tuesday, Croatia's Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry issued a statement, reiterating its support of the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Georgia. 

The Croatian ministry said that it would continue to coordinate and harmonize its positions on the matter with the positions of the member-states of the European Union and NATO.