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Public opinion in Europe opposes use of force against Russia
The world is fed up with war, and the latest poll taken in Europe is a clear example of that. It is also clear that Europeans are not as worried as Americans are regarding their security. Most Europeans do not see Russia as a threat to their security. Only European technocrats, who paint Russia as a growing threat, justify the expansion of NATO and continuous increases in defense budgets with the notion that Russia is coming to get them. Public opinion of a majority of the European members of NATO oppose a military answer to an eventual assault on a member by Russia, according to a study by the US Pew Center on the conflict in Ukraine. This is the scenario that European politcians warn about almost every single day on mainstream media. According to them, Russia is continuously expanding and that, they say, may be a sign that Putin is getting ready to attack. In reality, however, those accusations are nonsense. NATO on the other hand, has been expanding all over Europe for the past two decades and now has completely surrounded Russia with military bases and missile shield systems. Despite the continuous flow of war propaganda in Europe and the United States, 58% of Germans, 53% of French and 51% of Italians are opposed to a war against Russia, as granted by Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO), which enables the organization to carry out a joint military response in case of aggression to one of its partners. Despite having lived in a contiuous state of war for the past 200 years, Americans are the most favorable for a military response against Russia. In the US 56% of people interviewed by Pew Center and 53% of Canadians are in favor of this measure. Meanwhile, in Spain, 47% of citizens oppose the use of military force against Russian aggression and 48% beleives NATO should act collectively. The survey, conducted in Europe and North America, assessed the views of citizens in relation to the crisis in Ukraine, where Russia is blamed for supposedly supporting separatists in the east of the country. The Pew Center also asked people about Crimea’s decision to become part of Russia, although this fact was presented as a Russian annexation as supposed to a free vote, which is what really happened. In addition to being questioned about a military response, public opinion was also asked about subsidizing the collapsing Ukranian economy. Poland and Spain are the most inclined to increase economic assistance to Ukraine, each with 77%. People in these two countries also favor Ukraine joining the European Union (EU) and NATO. The positions change when it comes to sending weapons to Ukraine, something that publicly the White House continues to oppose but that continues to do in private. In the EU some politicians see arming the Ukrainians as a possibility, even though the leadership there came to power after a military coup against a democratically elected government.. Most Europeans, however, are opposed to shipping weapons, with a low 19% support in Germany; 22% in Italy; 25% in Spain and 40% in France. The Ukrainian conflict has also weighed heavily on the perception of Russia and the West has created a climate of strong hostility and fear which has made the perception of public opinion to have less trust in their leaders. Only a quarter of Europeans have a positive view of Russia, while only 12% of Russians, who overwhelmingly support the management of its president, Vladimir Putin, in Ukraine, have a positive view of NATO. The survey by the Pew Center was conducted between April and May and included more than 11,000 people in ten countries. Read the rest below at the source link
Source: http://real-agenda.com/public-opinion-in-europe-opposes-use-of-force-against-russia/
