Azernews.Az

MOSCOW – Armenia is not only Russia’s most arduous supporter in the South Caucasus region but is also one of the top five countries favoring Moscow in the whole world, a Gallup poll has found.

75 percent of the Armenians polled by the US-based research group last year believe Russia’s policy is effective. In this respect the South Caucasus republic is behind only Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Mali. Only 7 pct of Armenian citizens said they disapproved of the Russian leaders.

In Azerbaijan, another South Caucasus country, the number of respondents supporting Russia’s policy was quite large – 54 pct, according to the poll, which focused on public attitudes toward world leaders in 100 countries.

As was expected, Georgians are vehemently opposed to Moscow’s political course. 76 pct of the people polled there condemn the Kremlin’s policy, with only 6 pct welcoming the political course of President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Anti-Russian attitudes were also reported in Kosovo where only 7 pct of those polled said they supported Moscow.

As for attitudes toward French leaders, 62 pct of respondents in Armenia favored Paris’ policy. The Sarkozy administration enjoys less support in neighboring Azerbaijan and Georgia - 42 pct and 34 pct, and in Turkey the figure is 22 pct, Gallup found.

In Azerbaijan, the majority of those polled cited their approval of the United States leadership, with 58 pct of respondents supporting the White House’s policy. The figure was 50 pct in Armenia and 47 pct in Georgia.