Poll Shows 5% of Russians Support West Over Kosovo Issue

Moscow, October 30 (Itar-Tass) -- An opinion poll conducted in Russia by the national "Public Opinion" fund on October 17 proved to a rather wide awareness of the developments in Kosovo. A total of 84 percent of the participants in the poll claimed they knew what was going on there. At that, 68 percent of the respondents said they were concerned over the possible armed conflict in Kosovo, and only 15 percent of those involved in the poll proved indifferent to the problem.

The results of the poll showed that 54 percent of the respondents supported Yugoslavia. Only 5 percent of the participants in the poll said they approved of the position taken by the West.

Sociologists say the Russians tend to approve of a compromise as the best way to settle the conflict. The respondents made it clear they wanted Russia's involvement in the settlement be restricted to diplomatic efforts only. A total of 69 percent of the participants in the poll believed Slobodan Milosevic was right making concessions to the West to avoid the military interference. Russia's diplomatic efforts to avert a military conflict in Kosovo proved to enjoy the backing of 70 percent.

The poll was taken of 1500 city and rural residents in different

regions of Russia.