December 29, 2017

Armenia - Defense Minister Vigen Sargsian (R) inspects troops deployed
along the border with Azerbaijan, 

The Armenian military remains the most trusted institution in Armenia,
according to an opinion poll conducted recently.

The Armenian branch of the U.S.-funded Caucasus Resource Research
Center (CRRC) interviewed more than 1,600 randomly chosen households
across the country in November as part of the CRRC's annual Caucasus
Barometer survey. The survey gauged public opinion in Armenia and
Georgia on a wide range of issues facing the two neighboring
countries.

According to its findings released last week, 51 percent of Armenians
"fully trust" and another 26 percent "rather trust" their armed
forces. The CRRC's previous surveys found similarly strong popular
support for the Armenian army, a sentiment that appears to reflect the
unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The latest CRRC poll shows that the Armenian Apostolic Church and
other religious organizations active in the country were the second
most trusted institution, with 74 percent of respondents having
confidence in them.

The poll found much lower degrees of public trust towards the
executive and legislative branches of government. In particular, only
18 percent of those polled said they trust President Serzh Sarkisian,
according to the CRRC. Public confidence in the Armenian parliament
was found to be even weaker.

Respondents were also asked questions relating to foreign
policy. Two-thirds of them said they approve, in one way or another,
of Armenia's membership in the Russian-led Eurasian Economic
Union. Accordingly, 64 percent described Russia as Armenia's
"friendliest" foreign partner.

At the same time, 55 percent of those polled voiced varying degrees of
support for Armenia's potential accession to the European Union.