Moscow - President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday pledged military protection for Georgia's regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as he signed a partnership accord with the governments of both breakaway provinces.

"We will give each other all necessary support, including military support," Medvedev said in language formalized in the text of the agreements.

"With a view of safety of the signatories ... each party will give the other the right to build, utilize and modernize military infrastructure and army bases on its territory," Russian news agencies quoted the agreement as saying.

Berlin - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier hit out Wednesday the critics of the six-point European Union peace plan for the Georgia-Russia conflict.

"I find it a bit shabby the way it is being disparaged," said Steinmeier during a debate in the Bundestag parliament.

He praised France's President Nicolas Sarkozy, who had negotiated the plan in "difficult" talks in Moscow and Tbilisi.

"This conflict and people's deaths in the southern Caucasus ended because the European Union took up the case," said the minister.

Brussels - The August war in Georgia highlights the need for the European Union and Kazakhstan to work together, especially on energy issues, officials from the two sides said on Tuesday.

But the war is not likely to stop Kazakh companies investing in Georgian energy pipelines, Kazakh Trade Minister Vladimir Shkolnik told journalists after a meeting with EU officials in Brussels.

"Any investment is an economic decision and always carries a certain risk, but I imagine in this case the risks will be minimal," he said.

London, Sept. 16 (ANI): NATO has reportedly served notice on the Kremlin that it would offer every support to Georgia''s ambitions to join the Western Alliance despite the continued presence of Russian troops in the country''s breakaway regions.

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, NATO''s Secretary General, condemned the Russian occupation of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, even as Moscow continued to insist that both regions were no longer part of Georgian territory.

The Telegraph quoted him as saying that the launch of a new NATO-Georgia commission to co-ordinate Georgia''s bid would "function to enhance and accelerate our co-operation and integration."

Washington - The International Monetary Fund on Monday approved a 750-million-dollar emergency loan for Georgia to help stabilize the Caucasus republic's economy following last month's conflict wi