Security Radar 2022: Armenians seem determined to increase their  military spending

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.