Moldova’s parliament on Friday issued a fresh demand for Russian troops to leave a breakaway region of the country in a symbolic move likely to stir tensions with Moscow.

Following a walkout by pro-Kremlin parties, lawmakers in the ex-Soviet nation approved a declaration calling for Russia to pull out soldiers who have been stationed in the breakaway territory of Transdniestr since a ceasefire deal halted a bitter conflict 25 years ago.

The presence of Russian forces “violates the constitutional provisions on independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity” of Moldova, the declaration said.
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The demand is not expected to alter the situation on the ground but has already stirred passions in the divided country.

There is currently a tug-of-war going on inside Moldova, with the pro-Western government locked in a bitter dispute with Kremlin-friendly figurehead President Igor Dodon over the country’s future.

Pro-EU lawmaker Marian Lupu hailed the vote as “very important” and said it was “symbolic” that it came on the 25th anniversary of the end of the conflict in the Russian-speaking Transdniestr region in 1992.

But Dodon immediately hit back, calling the move “another provocative step” that was “intended to worsen relations with Russia.”

Moldova, a small country wedged between Ukraine and Romania, has an East-West cultural, linguistic and political split.

Dodon, who was elected in November, has called for closer ties with Moscow and said he would like to scrap a 2014 deal that brought Moldova closer to the European Union.

In May, Moldova’s West-leaning government kicked out five Russian diplomats which saw Moscow turf out its officials in revenge.