MOSCOW (Sputnik) – According to the survey obtained by Sputnik, 54 percent of those surveyed consider it necessary to continue the military operation in Syria. Older respondents had a particularly favorable opinion of the operation's continuation, with 60 percent of those over 45 years of age supporting this idea.
The poll also revealed that 78 percent of those surveyed think that the country’s forces have already managed to accomplish their key targets in Syria.
"First of all, Russians never abandon their people at war — they have taken responsibility and are ready to bear it even after the end of hostilities. Secondly, such a fateful event for the country as participation in a war, albeit far away, must have a logical conclusion, otherwise this is another traumatic factor for our society, as evidenced by the opinion of older generations who have a lot of experience in terms of social trauma," Stepan Lvov, the head of the VTsIOM Political Research Department, said.
At the same time, the majority of respondents spoke in favor of Moscow’s post-war support to Damascus. A total of 75 percent said that support should be provided in the form of humanitarian aid, while 45 percent of those surveyed also stressed the need for military and technical assistance. According to the poll, 44 percent said Russia should ensure diplomatic support to Syria.
Providing financial aid to Damascus was supported only by 25 percent of respondents, while the share of those who said that Moscow should not support Damascus at all amounted to 19 percent, the poll indicated.
The research was carried out among 1,200 Russians interviewed via phone on September 29-30.
On September 30, 2015 Russia launched its military operation in Syria. Since the beginning of the operation, Syrian government forces have liberated several large cities and lifted the siege of the city of Deir ez Zor.
