Nearly half of Greeks, 45 percent, said they are opposed to the punitive sanctions the European Union has imposed on Russia, according to an opinion poll.
The survey was conducted by U.S. based Gallup in the period May 14 to June 16 among 1,000 adults. It shows that 45 percent of Greek people believe that the sanctions against Moscow have negatively affected Greece’s economy, when only 5 percent of participants claim it has a positive effect. Almost 25 percent say that the sanctions had no effect at all.
Russia retaliated in August 2014 by banning EU food imports and in late July extended the ban until August 2016 by a presidential decree. Russia’s ban has hurt the Greek economy, said the poll participants.
“Before the sanctions, Greek agricultural exports to Russia made up 41% of all Greek exports to Russia, worth approximately 200 million euros annually,” Gallup said in a statement.
The SYRIZA-ANEL coalition government expressed its criticism of the sanctions against Russia before their extension in June. However, it failed to secure a blocking vote during a EU Council meeting.
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