Most Armenians doubt prospects for lasting peace with Azerbaijan – survey

A recent survey indicates that a majority of Armenian citizens remain sceptical about the possibility of achieving stable and lasting peace with Azerbaijan.

Armen Khachikyan, director of the Civilisational Research Foundation “ARAR,” presented the survey results to Sputnik Armenia, noting that only around 30% of respondents believe negotiations could lead to a long-term peace agreement, while the remaining 70% doubt such a prospect.

Khachikyan emphasised that the results were largely unaffected by the agreements reached in Washington, with 65–70% of respondents remaining sceptical. Even mediation by U.S. President Donald Trump does not seem to inspire widespread trust, with just 33.7% of respondents believing that the agreement under his mediation could lead to real peace.

The survey also found that Armenians are reluctant to reduce the size of their armed forces, even in the event of a peace settlement. “Around 80% do not want to reduce the size of the armed forces, even if real peace is achieved,” Khachikyan said, adding that younger generations are the least optimistic about reconciliation.

Meanwhile, trust in Russia as a strategic ally appears to be rising in Armenia. Approximately 37.8% of respondents expressed support for military-allied relations with Moscow. Confidence in the United States has also grown slightly, with 18.3% now supporting closer military ties compared to 13% in previous surveys.

Conversely, trust in the European Union has declined, dropping from 22% to 16%. Support for strengthening relations with countries such as Iran and India has also decreased, according to the survey.

The Civilisational Research Foundation “ARAR” conducted the survey from October 5–25, with a total of 1,123 participants.

By Vugar Khalilov