(PARIS) - France, which holds the EU presidency, is consulting its European partners to seek EU condemnation of Russia's recognition of rebel Georgian provinces, officials said Tuesday.

"We are consulting our partners to seek an EU declaration this afternoon. We hope it will be a condemnation of this recognition," a foreign ministry official told AFP.

France earlier said Russia's recognition of the Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states was a "regrettable decision."

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