Poll reveals declining trust of Armenians in Russia, France Iran, India and China are rising in ranks

An opinion poll conducted in Armenia has revealed that expectations of the people in the country of military and political assistance to Armenia by Russia and France, traditional allies of Yerevan, have been declining.

The survey conducted by MPG, the representative of the GALLUP International Association in Armenia, also disclosed that Armenians would expect Iran, India, and China to replace the long-lasting allies of Armenia in rendering military and political support.

The results of the poll were made public by MPG head Aram Navasardyan in a video posted last week on YouTube, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Armenian media.

According to the poll results, 37%(down from 38.3% in a May 2021 poll) of the respondents see Russia as the main ally of Yerevan in terms of military and political help, while 32.5% and 25.5% pin the same expectations on the United States and Iran, respectively. France was the fourth-most reliable partner of Armenia with 24.2% (down from 31.3 % in the May 2021 poll) of the survey participants putting the European country on top. India and China ranked fifth and sixth with 17.5% and 7.5% respectively.

Meanwhile, the names of Iran, India or China have not been mentioned in the May 2021 poll.

The poll also revealed the weakening trust in the Moscow-led Collective Security Organisation (CSTO), of which Armenia is a member, among Armenians. Only 0.2% of respondents (down from 7.2% in 2021) said the CSTO may take Armenia’s side in terms of military and political support.

Some 27.1% are even convinced that Yerevan should withdraw from the CSTO following what Armenian authorities claimed to be an inadequate response by the alliance to the fighting on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border in mid-September. Back then, Yerevan blamed Baku for hostilities and called CSTO to intervene since it was allegedly an “encroachment on Armenia’s territory” and should have activated the relevant clause of the CSTO doctrine.

In the meantime, some 29.6% of respondents said Russia has effectively reacted to border clashes, and 11.8% shared the same thoughts about the CSTO. At the same time, Iran's reaction to the clashes satisfied 68.8% of respondents.

More than half or 60% of survey participants said Armenia should acquire modern weapons for protecting the country's territory. At the same time, 10% are convinced that Armenia should rely on Western countries for its security, while the share of the same opinion about Russia was 8.8%.

The survey involved 1,100 respondents through telephone conversations from November 2-12.