Abkhazia says it is bound for independence

SUKHUMI, Georgia, May 8 (UPI) -- The president of Georgia's self-declared republic of Abkhazia said the region is bound to gain independence the same way Serbia's Kosovo did.

The former Soviet region, along with Georgia's South Ossetia and Moldova's Transdnestr, have increased efforts to gain independence since Kosovo did so in February, RIA Novosti reported Wednesday.

The self-proclaimed republics are calling for Russia and the United Nations, among other groups, to honor their independence.

"We want a lawful state, independent and democratic. ... If Kosovo can be independent, then so can Abkhazia," Abkhazia President Sergei Bagapsh said.

More than 35 countries, including the United States and the majority of European Union members, recognize Kosovo as an independent state.

"We (Abkhazia) do not want Moscow to recognize us in defiance of the United States in order to take revenge for Kosovo. We want independence because we have a right to it," Bagapsh added.