54% of Germans Say Anti-Russian Sanctions Aggravate Ukrainian Crisis: Poll

MOSCOW, December 19 (Sputnik) — Over half of German citizens, 54 percent, believe that sanctions imposed by the West on Russia amid the Ukrainian crisis have negatively affected hopes for a conflict settlement, according to a poll conducted by ICM Research exclusively for the Sputnik news agency.

Only 16 percent of German citizens thought the sanctions have affected the situation positively, while 24 percent said the measures had no effect at all.

British residents polled had a completely different opinion. Forty percent of British respondents said that sanctions have positively affected the Ukrainian crisis settlement, while only 21 percent argued that the impact was negative.

Thirty-seven percent of French citizens claimed that anti-Russian sanctions played no role at all in the Ukrainian reconciliation, and 30 percent said the measures played a negative role.

Overall, 35 percent of Europeans said the sanctions had a negative impact on the Ukrainian crisis settlement, while 26 percent had the opposite opinion.

The ICM Research questioned over 3,000 people in Germany, the United Kingdom, and France. Telephone interviews with adults were conducted in December 2014.

Following the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis, the United States, the European Union and their allied countries have introduced several rounds of sanctions against Russia, accusing Moscow of interfering in Ukraine's internal affairs. Moscow has denied those claims, saying that it is not a party to the Ukrainian internal conflict, and added that the sanctions are “illegal.”