“Not only Russia has interests in Transnistria. There are groups in Tiraspol that depend on Moscow, but also use it in their own interests, said the Deputy Secretary of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe Thomas Markert, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. According to the European official, a solution to the Transnistrian conflict could be identified only with Russia's consent. “A solution that would not suit Russia, which acts as a mediator in the conflict, will not be accepted,” he said. During a lecture themed “Sharing Power for Solving Transnistrian Conflict” that he delivered in Chisinau, Markert said that Moldova has greater chances of becoming part of the EU than Ukraine, even if the Transnistrian conflict is not solved. He stated that Moldova is a small and 'easy' country for the EU, which would not feel a great difference after accepting it as a member, but the Moldovan authorities will have to prove that they are ready to respect democracy. Markert also said that Moldova missed a good chance to solve the Transnistrian conflict. It could do it by obtaining economic development and convincing the Transnistrian residents that the life on the right bank of the Nistru is better so that they insisted on reunification. “This is a long-term solution that Moldova could not implement,” he said. The Deputy Secretary of the Venice Commission stressed that the Transnistrian dispute is not as complicated as the conflicts in Georgia and Nagorno-Karabakh. “It can be solved easier as it is not an ethnic one.”