Nearly 70 percent of Russian citizens believe their country should continue with present policies

The study was conducted by Moscow-based polling organization Yuri Levada Analytical Center and published last Tuesday, press TV reported.

It showed a slight increase in the number of people who agreed with Russia’s foreign policy in comparison with that of a similar survey which was carried out in December last year, in which 66 percent of respondents approved of the policy.

According to the poll, 21 percent of respondents said Russia should seek a compromise in the face of the sanctions imposed by the West over the crisis in Ukraine.

Some 1,600 people from 46 Russian regions took part in the survey conducted from January 23 to 26.

The poll comes at a time when Russia is under various kinds of pressure from the United States and the European Union (EU), which have accused Moscow of sending troops into eastern Ukraine in support of pro-Russia forces there.

Washington and the EU imposed several rounds of economic sanctions on Russia after accusing Moscow of being involved in the conflict that broke out in Ukraine last year. Russia has repeatedly denied the accusation.

In response to the sanctions, Moscow has banned most food imports from the US and the EU. Moscow is also reportedly considering a ban on the imports of cars and clothes from Western countries.

Violence broke out in Ukraine in April 2014, when the Ukrainian army launched operations to crush pro-Russia protests in the mainly Russian-speaking regions in Ukraine’s east.

According to the latest figures by the United Nations, around 5,400 people have been killed and about 12,300 others injured over the past months of conflict between the Ukrainian army and the pro-Russians.

M. Wassouf