According to the poll conducted by Ipsos Strategic Marketing for Serbian Beta news agency, 52 percent of Serbians have a positive view of Russia and only 32 percent have a positive view of the EU. However, 54 percent of those questioned would have backed joining the 28-member bloc if the vote on the EU membership was to take place today.
Both Russia and the EU are viewed more positively by Serbians now than in February 2014, when the previous poll was held. Early in 2014, 46 percent Serbians said they like Russia and 27 said they have a positive attitude toward the European Union.
Serbian senior officials, including the country's President Tomislav Nikolic and Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic repeatedly stated that Serbia would never join the Western sanctions sacrificing its cooperation with Russia for the sake of joining the EU.
