KASSEL, March 13. /ITAR-TASS/. Most German citizens do not support the possible imposition of economic sanctions on Russia over the situation in Ukraine, as follows from a recent opinion poll, conducted by market research company Forsa at the request of the German-Russian Chamber of Commerce.
Forsa statistics show that only 24% of the respondents consider economic sanctions against Russia as an effective means of settling the political crisis in Ukraine. At the same time, about 69% of Germans are convinced that such pressure on Moscow will bring nothing.
Most respondents believe that economic sanctions will mainly harm not only Russia but other states as well. About 47% of the respondents said they feared possible negative consequences for all EU countries, about 44% — particularly for Germany, 35% — for Ukraine and 15% — for the United States.
Besides, about 44% of those surveyed said Ukraine’s conflict might lead to oil and gas shortfall in Germany. About 64%, however, regarded Russia as a reliable energy supplier.
As for Ukraine’s association with the European Union, about 55% of the respondents said they were against its accession to the EU in the coming years, about 35% would support Ukraine’s membership in the EU and about 11% were undecided.
The survey was conducted on March 7-10, 2014 when 1,003 men and women were interviewed.