Almost 70% of Russians Believe Aerospace Forces Fulfilled Tasks in Syria

Almost 70 percent of Russians believe that the Russian Aerospace Forces have fulfilled their objectives in Syria, a new opinion poll revealed on Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the survey conducted by the non-governmental Russian research company Levada-Center, 69 percent of those interviewed said that Russia achieved the goals it set for its military operation in Syria, and only 14 percent think the opposite.

More than half of respondents believe the main task before the Russian Aerospace Forces in Syria was to combat terrorism and prevent its spread to Russia.

Among the 1,600 people polled about whether they approve of the government's decision to start the operation in Syria, almost 70 percent expressed a positive view, while 16 percent did not support the idea.

Eighty-one percent of those surveyed responded positively to a question about whether it was the right decision to withdraw Russian planes from Syria.

The Levada survey was conducted through personal interviews in 137 towns and cities across 48 Russian regions between March 11-14.

The Russian Aerospace Forces started counterterrorism operations in Syria in September 2015, at the invitation of Syrian President Bashar Assad. On March 15, Russia began a major withdrawal of its forces from Syria after accomplishing its objective, while leaving a small residual force.