Almost half of Russians surveyed is alarmed that the breakdown in relations between Russia and the West for the ongoing intervention of Moscow in the Syrian Conflict could trigger World War III.
A survey conducted by the independent Levada Research Centre among 1,600 individuals across Russia regarding the Syrian conflict resulted in 48 percent saying Russia's continued intervention could escalate the conflict into World War III, 42 percent said they were not concerned, and 10 percent said the question was too difficult to answer, Independent reported.
Moscow has been conducting bombing raids in Syria since September 2015, which has been heavily criticized by the West. The raids being conducted are said to be in support of Moscow's ally president Bashar Assad that civilians and opposition groups rather than the terrorist groups. Russia on its part accused the U.S. of siding with anti-Assad extremists, Europe Newsweek reported.
Asked if the citizens believed that Russia and the West would find a common ground to the crisis, 35 percent said it was likely, while 39 percent said it was unlikely. 26 percent of those surveyed could not give an answer.
In another survey question, 52 percent of Russians is in favor of the airstrikes, while 26 percent were opposed to it. Asked if Russia should continue its intervention in what's going on in Syria, 49 percent said yes while 28 percent said no.
Eighteen percent of Russians are following the situation in Syria closely. Sixty-four percent said they know a little about what is going on, while 17 percent are completely unaware. Tension has been building up between Russia and NATO countries since Russia's annexation of Crimea during Ukraine's uprising.
The survey was conducted between Oct. 21-24 among people aged 18 and over from 48 regions across Russia. On Oct. 26, the independent research body that conducted the survey was fined by a Russian court for not registering as a "foreign agent," reported by CNBC.
