Moldova termed as illegal a referendum in the Trans-Dniester region whose results showed a majority of the people there supported the region's eventual union with Russia, reports from the Moldovan capital Chisinau said on Sunday.

Moldova's presidential office said Moldova would not accept the results of the "illegitimate" referendum, which was held earlier Sunday.

According to Russia's Itar-Tass news agency, by 17:00 local time, preliminary results had shown that over 90 percent of the voters favored leaving Moldova and joining Russia.

Moldovan Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev told Romania's press that he expected the Russian government would not accept the results of the referendum.

According to agreements reached between Moldova and Russia, Russia should acknowledge Moldova's territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence, the prime minister said.

The European Union, the United States, Romania and Ukraine also refused to accept the results of the referendum, which they termed as illegal.

Some Chisinau citizens staged demonstrations before the Russian Embassy in the capital, protesting against Russia's support for the referendum.

The Trans-Dniester region, an area of 4,163 square km in east Moldova, broke away from the ex-Soviet republic after a 1992 war killed about 1,500 people.

Troops from Russia, Moldova and Trans-Dniester are engaged in a peacekeeping operation in the region, along with observers from Ukraine and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Moscow has a 1,200-strong force deployed in the region.

Among the region's 600,000 population, about 40 percent are ethnic Moldovans, 30 percent ethnic Russians and 30 percent Ukrainians.

(Xinhua News Agency September 18, 2006)