RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES MUST TAKE SERIOUS STEPS TO LIQUIDATE XENOPHOBIA: ARMENIAN FM

Yerevan, December 25. ArmInfo. Xenophobia is a serious problem for
Russia itself, Armenian FM Vardan Oskanyan says in an interview to
Yerkir Media.

He says that the Russian authorities must take serious measures to
liquidate xenophobia in the country as it is fraught with dangerous
consequences. Oskanyan notes that it is aimed not against Armenia in
particular but against non-Russians in general. "We must also try to
help Russia to effectively fight this phenomenon," says Oskanyan.

To note, according to the All-Russian Center for Public Opinion
Studies, 52% of Russians would approve the eviction of some ethnic
groups from their regions (against 44% in 2002), 31% would not (40%
in 2002). In fact, nationalists do not much care if aliens have
Russian passports or not. Policemen, teachers and doctors show the
strongest antipathy to representatives of other nationalities (68%,
63% ad 61% respectively).