Moldovan lawmakers on Friday called on Russia to pull troops out of the pro-Moscow breakaway region of Transdniestria, speaking out in a stormy parliament session that underlined the split in the nation's loyalties between the West and Russia.

Sixty-one MPs in the 101-member assembly approved a symbolic statement that called for Russia to withdraw troops, weapons and other military equipment from Transdniestria, which seceded from the ex-Soviet republic in 1990.

The main opposition Socialists left the chamber in protest, calling it a provocation that would worsen relations with Russia and damage efforts to achieve a lasting settlement of Transdniestria's status.

Parliament "calls upon the Russian Federation to recommence and finalize the process of withdrawing its troops..., its munitions, weapons and military equipment from the territory of the Republic of Moldova," the statement said.

Moldovan politics is divided between a pro-Western government that has forged closer trade and diplomatic links with the European Union and Washington, and a pro-Russian president who wants to move Moldova back within Russia's orbit.

From Reuters in Chisinau

Likewise, this event's been reported in international media Guardian, Balkan Insight, frontnews.eu, pakistanpoint.com, romaniajournal.ro, true-news.info, seenews, the-newspapers.