Poll shows 40% Russians opposed to international military operation in Syria

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(Interfax – MOSCOW, August 28, 2013) The majority of Russian citizens do not support either side of the Syrian conflict but more people believe in the victory of the Syrian authorities rather than the opposition, Levada Center sociologists told Interfax on the basis of the poll they conducted.

The majority of respondents (61%) have heard about the conflict in Syria but few (8%) have been watching it closely, while 39% know nothing about the most recent events in the country, the survey showed.

Sociologists said that 77% Moscow residents are aware of the events in Syria. Young people aged 18-24 (47%) and people with education below secondary (47%) are among the 39% respondents not aware of anything happening in Syria.

Half of the respondents (51% of 1,601) said they did not support either side of the conflict. One person out of five (19%) supports Bashar al-Assad’s government and 7% support the militants. The share of Bashar’s supporters among Russian citizens grew from 9% in autumn 2012 to 11%.

A total of 37% do not doubt that civil war is under way in Syria and 26% think that “terrorists provoked by the West wage a bloody war against the government,” the poll showed. Six percent believe that the regime of Bashar al-Assad massacres the opponents and 31% failed to respond.

Respondents have different opinions regarding the situation’s possible development in Syria. One in five people (22%) expects that NATO will eventually become involved – Moscow residents (36%) and people with higher education (28%) are the most certain of this.

Nineteen percent think that civil war will continue in Syria, 12% believe the authorities will win and 11% are certain that the sides of the conflict will manage to find a compromise with the mediation of the global community, the poll showed. Only 3% said they believed the opposition would win.

Sociologists also asked respondents what stance Russia should take regarding the Syrian authorities, which are accused by the West of human rights violations and cruel suppression of the opposition.

A total of 34% said Moscow should not support either the Syrian authorities or the West and should try to find what most benefits it. One in five (21%) said Syria historically has been Russia’s ally and should be supported, one in ten (11%) calls for supporting the actions of the West against the current Syrian authorities, while 34% failed to answer this question, the poll showed.

Forty percent of Russian citizens are opposed to holding an international military operation in Syria similar to the one held in Libya two years ago, 22% support it and 38% failed to respond, sociologists said.

When asked about the ban on weapons supplies to Syria, 27% said they supported it, 35% opposed and 38% could not answer.

The Levada Center poll was held before reports emerged that chemical weapons were used near Damascus on August 21. Insurgents said that the attack, which, according to their information, claimed at least 1,300 lives, was carried out by the government’s forces. Damascus denied these allegations and said that the opposition was responsible for it.

On August 26, a group of UN experts took soil and air samples in the region, where the alleged chemical attack took place.

Meanwhile, the United States, the United Kingdom and France are preparing to strike certain targets in Syria with cruise missiles and these strikes could last 2-3 days, foreign mass media reported.

According to the information of some mass media outlets, the United States and its partners plan to strike Syria on August 29.

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