Wellington, Dec 18 NZPA - Foreign affairs advisers in Wellington today baulked at questions on New Zealand's views on the tiny Pacific Island of Nauru recognising Russian-backed breakaway states in Georgia in the wake of last year's civil war there.

The 11,320 citizens of Nauru -- best known as an atoll covered in nutrient-rich bird droppings -- has broken with Western solidarity by announcing it will recognise the republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, on Georgian land which Russia and Georgia went to war over last year.

Now Nauru, a tiny South Pacific nation which has previously received millions of dollars of assistance from New Zealand taxpayers, plans to establish diplomatic relations with the two pseudo republics.

According to the Kommersant newspaper, Russia is preparing to give Nauru $US50m ($NZ70m) in "humanitarian aid". In return Nauru will establish relations with the two Russian-backed territories.

New Zealand officials, asked how they felt about the Nauru foray into the politics of the Caucasus, demurred.

"It is not New Zealand's practice to make explicit statements concerning the recognition or non-recognition of states," said a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman. "Nauru is an independent sovereign country and the government of Nauru makes its own decisions on its diplomatic relations."

Despite the enthusiasm of a delegation of Nauru politicians to the two renegade republics, Georgia considers both Abkhazia and South Ossetia to be occupied territory that remains part of Georgia.

The states were at the heart of the 2008 South Ossetia War, between Georgia on one side, and the Russian Federation together with Ossetians and Abkhazians on the other.

In addition to Russia -- with which New Zealand has just signed a major economic agreement -- and Nauru, Nicaragua and Venezuela are the only United Nations members which recognise Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states,

But Russia's attempts to buy international support on the issue has not always ended happily, the Guardian in London reported. In October, Moscow offered Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, $US200 million in loans when he popped into Moscow. Mr Correa subsequently failed to recognise South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and Russia responded by not giving him the money.

Even Kremlin allies such as Belarus have declined recognition.

"In mounting desperation, Russia courted Nauru's foreign minister, Kieren Keke," The Guardian reported. "Over the weekend, Mr Keke dropped in to South Ossetia's capital, Tskhinvali. The Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, also invited him for talks.

Alexander Privalov, a columnist and political analyst in Moscow, told the newspaper that Nauru has previously taken money to recognise the independence of Kosovo and Taiwan. In July 2002, Nauru accepted $US130m from China to de-recognise Taiwan only to re-recognise it in 2005 after apparently receiving another, better offer.

"It seems that political d©marches are a kind of business in Nauru," Privalov said. "I can't really understand what Russia gets out of this. It may be about making us look more decent."

Kommersant said Nauru's parliament will legislate on South Ossetia and Abkhazia in its next session of Parliament.

"We will be asking other Oceania countries to help us in the same way," South Ossetia's speaker, Stanislav Kochiev, told the paper.

Some analysts predicting that other Pacific Island will also sign on.