49% Russians unperturbed by West’s sanctions: Poll
March 31, 2014, 12:12 pm

A Pro-Putin demonstrators holds posters reading “We Believe Putin!” as others gather towards to Red Square in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 7, 2014, with Spassky Tower, left, and St. Basile Cathedral, right, are in the background [AP]

Only one-third of Russians surveyed were worried about possible international isolation due to the country’s position on Crimea, while just under half (49 per cent) remained unconcerned. The Russian Premier Medvedev has announced that Crimea and Sevastopol would become a special economic zone.

36 per cent of those polled by Levada said they were worried about a potential break of diplomatic relations between Russia and Ukraine, while 57 per cent were unperturbed by the possibility.

Just over one third of those surveyed reported they were concerned about the prospect of barriers to visiting Western countries.

Twenty-seven per cent felt puzzled by the news about the West’s sanctions and 35 per cent said they felt outraged.

Meanwhile, the majority of those asked explain the reaction of the USA and EU as a result of hostility towards Russia and a desire to take advantage of the situation in bringing pressure to bear on the country.

About 20 per cent of respondents believe that the West fails to understand the real situation in Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and the US secretary of state John Kerry held talks on Sunday night to seek a diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian crisis.

Moscow has proposed a federal structure for Ukraine where its many regions are free to engage in “external economic and cultural connections with neighbouring countries or regions”.

“Frankly speaking, we don’t see any other way for the steady development of the Ukrainian state apart from as a federation. Given the proportion of native Russians [in Ukraine], we propose this and we are sure there is no other way,” Lavrov told Kerry on Sunday in Paris.

After Crimea held a referendum earlier this month in which over 96 per cent of voters supported reunification with Russia, the US and EU imposed targeted sanctions against a number of top Russian officials.

Moscow last week slammed attempts to drive a wedge between Russia and its allies on the Ukrainian crisis after the US admitted it was trying to diplomatically isolate President Vladimir Putin.

TBP and Agencies