There is little interest among the Moldovans regarding the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict. According to a survey, it ranks just the 9th in the list of priorities of the people on the western side of the Nistru River. On a monetary scale, half of respondents said that they would be willing to spare just 10 lei ($0.8) or less for the conflict to be solved, Info-Prim Neo reports. The survey is part of a study titled “Transnistria: A Bottom-Up Solution”, developed by the think-tank IDIS Viitorul and the European Council on Foreign Relations' Wider Europe Program. IDIS Viitorul expert Leonid Litra stated at the presentation of the study on Thursday that the Transnistrian issue is more of a hobby of certain people and institutions. Nicu Popescu, senior researcher at the Wider Europe Program, says that the good side of this lack of interest is that there is less nationalistic unrest around the conflict area. The downside is that Moldovan society is unwilling to make significant concessions. Nicu Popescu thinks that the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict must be achieved through a policy of small steps. “We opt for a policy of step-by-step reintegration, meaning a bottom-up solution. The attempt to establish several dialogue channels requires more compromises and implies aspects we might not like, like discussions with unrecognized authorities”, said the expert. According to him, the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict mustn’t be seen as a one day event when Chisinau and Tiraspol would sign a document that ended the conflict. A rapid and inappropriate agreement could be harmful as it could interrupt the progress of reforms in Moldova and the process of European integration. The authors of the study consider that Moldova must become more attractive for the residents of the Transnistrian region in order to change the “attractiveness balance” on the field. In order to achieve this, Moldova must prioritize the development of towns and villages neighboring the administrative border with the Transnistrian region. The authorities on the right side of the Nistru should invest in development and creating jobs in cities and around them.