ArmInfo.Armenians seem determined to increase their military spending. This is stated in the study of Security Radar 2022, which is conducted by the FES Regional Office for Cooperation and Peace in Europe.
In particular, according to the survey, 96% of respondents noted that an increase in military spending in Armenia is a necessity step. 71% of Armenians strongly agree that Armenian foreign policy should represent the country's own interests without restriction.
When asked about the countries or regions with which the country should cooperate more, 86% of Armenians name China, followed by the USA (85%), the EU (85%), and Russia (76%). The experts, however, stress that Armenia should also look for potential allies in their neighbourhood, such as Iran and Georgia, and seek to re-establish diplomatic ties with Turkey. In contrast, the Armenian population takes a critical view of deeper cooperation with Turkey, with almost half of the respondents strongly disagreeing with a normalisation of relations with this particular neighbour.
Some 85% of respondents agree (73% of them strongly) that parts of neighbouring countries properly belong to Armenia - the highest proportion by far among the countries surveyed.
Armenian respondents express strong concern about wars and conflicts (83%), followed by economic crises (60%) and the least worrying about the coronavirus pandemic (58%). At the international level in Armenia, human rights violations, military buildup, terrorism and extremism are considered the top three global security issues. Global inequality, international migration and trade wars are seen as less pressing issues. In Armenia, the survey was conducted from September to December 2021, in which 1,500 people took part.
In general, the study showed that most peoples want to see peace and cooperation as political priorities. Security Radar 2022 is the second edition of an FES survey gauging the public opinion in 14 states from across the OSCE region.