MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/. Most Russians (85%) view the current relations between Russia and the United States in a negative way, and more than half of those polled (52%) describe them as tense, a poll conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center revealed.

"The vast majority of Russians (85%) view the present relationship between Russia and the US negatively, the way they did a year ago (86% in 2018). Russians mainly describe these relations as ‘tense’ (52%), ‘cool’ (20%) or ‘hostile’ (13%)," the pollster said.

Most respondents believe that Russia needs to step up security cooperation with the United States (52%). Russians are also interested in closer cultural (47%), political (45%) and economic (42%) ties with the US. In addition, more than one-third of those polled (39%) are also in favor of cultivating ties in education.

About one-third of the respondents described their attitude towards US President Donald Trump as "more negative" than positive, more than one-half (53%) said they did not care, while another 11% said their attitude towards the US leader was "more positive" than negative. Young people aged 18-24 were indifferent more often (71%), while negative views prevailed among the older generation (people aged 45-49 and 60+), that is 37% for each age group," the survey revealed.

Almost one-half of the respondents (47%) believe Russian-US relations will remain unchanged throughout the next few years. Another 19% said bilateral ties were likely to improve, whereas 20% held a contrasting viewpoint.

The survey was conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center on October 8, with 1,600 people aged 18 and above interviewed over the phone. The margin of error does not exceed 2.5% with a probability of 95%.