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MOSCOW, April 30 (RIA Novosti) - Russia signed on Thursday joint border protection agreements with the former Georgian republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The agreements were signed in the Kremlin by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Abkhazian President Sergei Bagapsh, and South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity. Russia recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states after the five-day war with Georgia, which attacked South Ossetia in an attempt to bring it back under central control. Most residents of both Abkhazia and South Ossetia had held Russian citizenship for several years. Under the agreements, Russia will guard the Abkhaz and South...