Moldova Asks Russian Troops to Quit Transnistria

Moldova's parliament adopted a declaration on Friday, asking Russia to withdraw its troops from the breakaway region of Transnistria where they have been deployed for 25 years.

The move came a day after the Moldovan Foreign Ministry warned Russia's Deputy Prime Minister, Dmitry Rogozin, that the country would not allow him to land by military plane in Chisinau for a visit to mark the 25th anniversary of the Russian peacekeeping mission in Transnistria.

Parliamentary speaker Andrian Candu, a member of the ruling Democratic Party, said the text of the declaration was drafted together with the Foreign Ministry.

A majority of 61 MPs out of 65 MPs present at the session backed the motion after opposition Socialist Party deputies left the chamber in protest against the decision to include the document on the agenda without enough time for the MPs to evaluate its impact.

"This is a serious violation of common sense. At least allow us to look at it properly," Socialist MP Vlad Batrancea said in parliament. "We believe this is a geopolitical provocation," he added, before he left the hall with his fellow party members.

Moldova's pro-Russian President, Igor Dodon, condemned the document in a message on his Facebook account, accusing the pro-EU dominated parliament of trying to "worsen relations with the Russian Federation and undermine all the breakthroughs in Moldovan exports to the Russian Federation, regional cooperation, education and humanitarian programs."

He also claimed that such a decision could only come from "outside Moldova", presumably referring to Romania.

Romania's Prime Minister, Mihai Tudose, and several Romanian ministers were in Chisinau on Friday for a joint government meeting with the Moldovan executive.