Ex-Soviet Moldova's rebel Dnestr region voted on Sunday in a referendum expected to back the territory's self-styled independence declared 16 years ago and its eventual union with Russia, Reuters reported. There is little doubt voters in the Russian-speaking sliver of land bordering Ukraine will overwhelmingly back their hardline leaders' call to underpin their independence in one of the "frozen conflicts" defying resolution in ex-Soviet states. But just as no one recognises the independence of Dnestr, which has undergone little apparent change since communism fell, no Western country will endorse the vote as legitimate. Only Russia, which keeps 1,200 troops in the region, has called for the outcome to be heeded. "I voted for statehood, for strategic partnership with Russia ... I think all our Dnestr people will vote the same way," Igor Smirnov, the breakaway region's president, said after casting his ballot in Tiraspol, Dnestr's main town. He hoped the poll would be recognised by Moscow. "Recognition or lack of it is a matter for every state," he said. "We would like it to be recognised." Election officials said more than 58 percent of Dnestr's 390,000 voters had cast ballots by mid-afternoon, validating the plebiscite. Results were expected on Monday. Voters were asked two questions: whether they back independence and attachment to Russia or whether they reject independence and want to integrate with Moldova.
