Nauru is no longer eligible for any US government financial support because it recognises two Georgian break-away regions as independent countries.

Photo: AFP

US President Donald Trump has signed an act which declares that Abkhazia and South Ossetia are Russian-occupied territories belonging to Georgia.

The act bans support for countries which recognise the two regions and also says US representatives in international financial institutions are prohibited from supporting programmes that violate Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

While Nauru has maintained links with the two regions, Tuvalu and Vanuatu dropped their recognition as independent countries.

The US is a major financial contributor to the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, UN Children's Fund, World Health Organisation and UN Fund for Population Activities, which assist Nauru.

Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke away from Georgia after wars in the early 1990s and have run their own affairs ever since.

The US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and the Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Kvirikashvili have also signed an agreement to improve the Georgian military's co-operation with NATO forces.