Armenians tend not to trust CSTO - poll

YEREVAN. Nov 29 (Interfax) - While most of Armenians do not trust the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), they are divided over whether the country should withdraw from the organization, as seen from a public opinion poll whose findings were released in Yerevan on Tuesday.

"Asked from what countries Armenia could receive military-political assistance, 37% of those polled named Russia, 32.5% the United States, 0.2% the CSTO, and 24.2% France," Aram Navasardyan, head of Armenia's office of the Gallup International Association, which conducted the poll, said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Asked whether they think Armenia should withdraw from the CSTO, 27.1% answered "definitely yes" and another 16.2% "rather yes," while 19.6% said "definitely not" and 19.7% "rather not."

"Asked what direction Armenia should follow for integration, 17.4% named Russia, 15.5% the United States, and 9% the EU. Another 44.6% said Armenia should have equal relations with all centers of influence. In the view of 29.3% of the respondents, the West's involvement in efforts toward normalizing Armenia's relations with Azerbaijan is really aimed at settling them, while 21.4% believe the West's goal is to oust Russia from the region," Navasardyan said.

The poll has shown that 59.4% of the respondents believe Azerbaijan's actions require a military response, 14.1% are in favor of intensifying peace talks, 10% would opt for turning for help to Russia, and 8.8% to the West.

"As many as 80.4% of the respondents consider it unacceptable to grant ethnic minority status to Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan," Navasardyan said.

The telephone poll of 1,100 respondents was conducted on November 2-12.