MOSCOW. Aug 25 (Interfax) - Russians know little about the Karabakh conflict but hope it will be resolved peacefully, Russian Public Opinion Study Center (VTsIOM) sociologists told Interfax.
A quarter of Russians (24%) called the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh an independent state. The opinion was mostly expressed by people with higher education (26%). Only 13% of people with primary education think so.
Eleven percent suggested that it was a part of Armenia and 9% argued Karabakh belonged to Azerbaijan. Fifty-three percent were undecided.
VTsIOM polled 1,600 respondents in 130 populated localities in 42 regions in the middle of August.
Some 45% of respondents were aware of the exacerbation of the Karabakh conflict in early August; ten percent of them knew details and 35% had a general idea. Awareness was much higher amongst senior citizens (55% of people older than 60) and men (51%) than amongst the younger generation (31%) and women (41%). Fifty-two percent of respondents learned about the escalating tensions from the sociologists.
Half of Russians (56%) said it was still possible to resolve the Karabakh conflict by peaceful means. This opinion was mostly expressed by senior citizens (65%) and people with primary education (64%). Only 14% argued that the question of Karabakh's territorial belonging could not be resolved without using force, and a third (30%) were undecided.
Azerbaijan and Armenia are negotiating the resolution of the conflict with the assistance of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries - Russia, France and the United States.
The leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan met in Sochi on August 10. The presidents stated that the Karabakh conflict could have only a peaceful solution.