Interfax
October 24, 2013
Russian diplomatic activity prevents foreign invasion of Syria – poll
MOSCOW: Russian citizens are aware of the Russian-U.S. agreements concerning Syria, which are supported by UN resolutions, and think the deal has helped prevent a military operation against Syria, sociologists from the Russian Opinion Study Center (VTsIOM) said.
Some 68% of the respondents showed an interest in Syrian events, among them, 15% constantly monitor the developments and 53% do so sporadically. Thirty-one percent have no interest in Syria, the sociologists told Interfax. The poll was held in 130 towns and cities in 42 regions in the middle of October.
It appeared that the Russia-U.S. agreements on Syria were known to 58% of 1,600 respondents, and Muscovites and St. Petersburg residents were better informed than others (78%). Some 41% of the respondents, mostly people in small towns (50%), learned about the deal from the sociologists.
Thirty-six percent of the well-informed respondents said they knew about the decision to scrap Syrian chemical weapons, and 17% knew that the situation had been resolved peacefully. Seventy-seven percent knew that Russia had initiated the agreements.
Twenty-four percent of the respondents said Russia was seeking a peaceful solution to the Syrian problem, 17% noted Russia’s opposition to military operations on Syrian territory, and 15% said that Russia was a leader in the settlement of that conflict. A quarter of the well-informed respondents could not say exactly what the Russian position was about.
Sixty-three percent of the well-informed respondents said the agreements could really stop an international military operation, and 23% argued that an invasion was still possible. Most of such respondents were between 18 and 24 years of age (33%), the sociologists said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed the importance of the supremacy of diplomatic measures in the Syrian peace process. “Russia unwaveringly supports the diplomatic approach. Most importantly, this approach gained support of the majority of countries with regard to the complex situation in Syria,” the chief of state said on October 23, while receiving credentials from foreign ambassadors in the Kremlin.
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