U.S. candidates condemn Russia move on Georgia areas

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama on Tuesday condemned Russia's decision to recognize two rebel regions of Georgia as independent states and said Moscow should be further isolated from the international community.

Defying pressure from the West, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said he had signed decrees recognizing the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

"I condemn Russia's decision to recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states and call upon all countries of the world not to accord any legitimacy to this action," Obama, a Democratic senator, said in a statement.

Separately, Republican McCain called Russia's move "a significant and negative step."

"Moscow's action deserves condemnation from the entire international community, and Russia must understand that its violations of international law carry consequences," McCain said in statement.

McCain, an Arizona senator, said he warned in April that Russia was pursuing a policy of de facto annexation that threatened to undermine security and stability in the region.

"Today's decision, the culmination of a long effort aimed at splitting these two regions away from Georgia, represents a major step forward in that process," McCain said.

McCain, whose wife Cindy McCain is in Georgia on a humanitarian mission, said that he remains deeply concerned about Russia's continued refusal to comply with the terms of the ceasefire ending hostilities with Georgia.

In his written statement that marked a toughening of his rhetoric toward Russia, Obama, who will be formally nominated as the Democratic presidential candidate at the party's convention on Thursday, also said the United States should call for an immediate meeting of the U.N. Security Council to condemn Moscow's decision.

"The U.S. should lead within the U.N. and other international forums to cast a clear and unrelenting light on the decision, and to further isolate Russia internationally because of its actions," he said.

Although Russia is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, it could not stop closed-door consultations among the members. It could, however, use its position to block the council from issuing a statement or resolution critical of Russian actions in Georgia.

Obama also said Russia's action would make it impossible for the U.S. Congress to enact a civil nuclear agreement with Russia that President George W. Bush sent to lawmakers earlier

this year.

"If Russia's government continues to violate the norms and practices of the international community, the United States and our allies must review all aspects of relations with Russia," Obama said.

Georgia and Russia fought a brief war over the breakaway region of South Ossetia earlier this month after Georgia sent in troops to try to retake the province by force.

(Reporting by Caren Bohan and Jeff Mason, editing by Cynthia Osterman)