Armenian experts oppose Russian military presence

Pravda, Russia / Rosbalt
May 31 2004

The European Union and the Council of Europe promote Armenian
independence. According to data gathered in a survey of experts by the
Armenian Center for Strategic and National Research, 72% of experts
support this view. At the same time, 56% of those surveyed believe
that Russia limits Armenian independence.

6% see the US and the World Bank as limiting Armenian independence,
and 4% believe the same about Turkey. 66% of experts were confident
that in the next 10-12 years Armenia will become a member of NATO,
with 28% confident that they will not. 6% had difficulty answering
this question. The presence of Russian military bases on Armenian
territory was welcomed by only 18% of the experts who thought that
the bases provide a guarantee of safety for the country. At the same
time, 76% of those surveyed were opposed to Russian forces in Armenia,
and 6% had difficulty answering this question.

Of the 50 experts who participated in the survey, 30% were affiliated
with government organizations and 70% with non-governmental
organizations.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress