Survey Shows 64% of Armenians Support Customs Union Membership

YEREVAN — About 66% of Armenians support the decision to join the Customs Union, according to the results of a recent survey, Director of the Armenian Representation of the Gallup International Aram Navasardyan told reporters today.

The public opinion poll was conducted among 1,067 adults in Yerevan and provinces from October 9 to 16.

Aram Navasardyan, chairing the Association, told the press that “to the question on the attitude towards the idea of Armenia’s membership in the CU, 36 percent responded ‘rather positive, than negative’, 28 percent said ‘completely positive’ (the total of 64 percent). After joining the CU Armenia would experience economic growth, believe 38 percent of the respondents, 26 percent expect price reduction, while 17 percent believe nothing is going to change from the CU membership.

The results show that 25% of Armenians would like to temporarily work in European countries, 17% and 9% would like to work in post-Soviet countries and the United States respectively; 45% would not like to leave at all. At the same time, 59% of the respondents said they would not like to move to another country permanently.

Navasardyan stresses that within the research commission by the Eurasian Bank, implemented in April this year, 67 percent of the surveyed said yes to the question “Should Armenia join the Customs Union with Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus?”, versus the current 64 percent.

“This might be linked to the circumstance that after [President Serzh Sarkisian’s] September 3 statement we have been exposed to a large-scale anti-propaganda, hence have seen that three percent drop,” he says.