Georgia’s Foreign Ministry has said that Nauru has withdrawn its recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. It was one of five UN member states to have recognised Abkhazia and South Ossetia, alongside Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Syria. As of the time of publication, there have been no official comments from South Ossetia or Abkhazia about the withdrawal. Nauru, a tiny island country in the South Pacific Ocean with a population of around 12,000, recognised Abkhazia and South Ossetia in December 2009. It joins two other South Pacific countries that have withdrawn their recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia — Vanuatu and Tuvalu, which both severed diplomatic ties with Sukhumi (Sukhum) and Tskhinvali (Tskhinval) in 2011.