Mr. Medvedev also offered his thanks. “We are not indifferent to the fate of South Ossetia and Abkhazia; we were the first country to come to the rescue of these young regions,” he said, in remarks on Russian television. “We are glad that worldwide support for them is growing.”

Moscow’s decision to recognize the two regions and deploy hundreds of Russian troops in both after its brief war with Georgia last August drew widespread international condemnation. It also raised tensions with some other countries in the former Soviet sphere, who worried that the precedent could encourage separatist movements within their own borders.

The issue has also ensured that tensions remain high between Russia and Georgia. Lately, the two have clashed over shipping rights to Abkhazia via the Black Sea. The Georgian coast guard has impounded five ships from different countries this year for delivering supplies to Abkhazia in violation of Georgian law.

Georgia brushed aside Mr. Chávez’s announcement on Thursday as insignificant.

“It does not change the situation concerning these regions at all,” said Alexander Nalbandov, Georgia’s deputy foreign minister. “Ninety-nine percent of the international community recognizes the territorial integrity of Georgia.”

Mr. Chávez arrived in Moscow on Wednesday and, in usual form, delivered a speech at a local university railing against the United States. The Kremlin has typically tried to distance itself from Mr. Chávez’s often flamboyant jingoism, but Russia has become one of Venezuela’s key international partners.