Russia signs treaty with rebel Georgian region, West concerned

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia signed a treaty with Georgia's breakaway South Ossetia region on Wednesday which Tbilisi condemned as a "move aimed at annexation" and the West says could threaten regional stability and security.

Under the "alliance and integration" treaty, signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and South Ossetian leader Leonid Tibilov, Russia's security forces, military and customs services will be integrated with South Ossetia's.

Russia, which will also protect the borders of the tiny region of about 50,000 people, recognised South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states after a short war with Georgia in 2008 but most countries say the two regions are part of Georgia.

"Another step is being taken today to strengthen our partnership," Putin said after signing what he described as a "landmark" treaty in the Kremlin, the Russian and South Ossetian flags behind him.

Tibilov hailed the treaty, which will be in force for 25 years and make it easier for the people of South Ossetia to gain Russian citizenship, as an historic step.

But Georgian Foreign Minister Tamar Beruchashvili told reporters in the Georgian capital Tbilisi: "It's a cynical and provocative step by Russia ... We consider it a move aimed at annexation."

Western leaders fear that Russia, which is celebrating the first anniversary of its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, may also try to take over regions in eastern Ukraine that are held by pro-Russian separatists fighting Ukrainian government forces.

The United States and the European Union have said they will not recognise the treaty, which Brussels says is a "step against ... efforts to strengthen security and stability in the region."

(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin in Moscow and Margarita Antidze in Tbilisi, Writing by Timothy Heritage, Editing by Elizabeth Piper and Thomas Grove)