Americans and Russians Agree on Priorities for Syria, Differ on Urgency of North Korea

January 15, 2018

RESEARCH Public Opinion Survey by Dina Smeltz , Lily Wojtowicz , and Stepan Goncharov

The Council and Levada Center in Moscow, Russia coordinated surveys to compare US and Russia public opinion about foreign policy issues.

Key Findings

This is the first of three reports based on coordinated surveys conducted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the Levada Center in Moscow on US-Russian public opinion about foreign policy issues, generously funded by the Carnegie Corporation.

In a holiday greeting to US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin urged "pragmatic cooperation" between the United States and Russia to address global challenges and threats. This message builds upon previous Trump-Putin phone conversations regarding the situation in Syria and threats from North Korea. Survey results show that the Russian public places ending the conflict in Syria and reducing nuclear weapons worldwide at the top of the bilateral agenda. The American public emphasizes potential joint efforts to pressure North Korea, likely reflects heightened American concern over Pyongyang's actions.

Crown Center Content This content is produced by the Lester Crown Center, which aims to shape debates and inform decisions on important US foreign policy and national security issues.

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About the Authors

Dina Smeltz

Senior Fellow, Public Opinion and Foreign Policy

Dina Smeltz, a polling expert, has more than 25 years of experience designing and fielding international social and political surveys. Prior to joining the Council to lead its annual survey of American attitudes on US foreign policy, she served in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research at the US State Department's Office of Research from 1992 to 2008.

Lily Wojtowicz

Janne E. Nolan Nuclear Security Fellow, Truman Center

Lily Wojtowicz is the Janne E. Nolan Fellow for Nuclear Security and a PhD student at American University. Her research interests are nuclear deterrence, alliance management, Russian public opinion, and US-Russian relations.

Stepan Goncharov

Sociologist, Levada Analytical Center

Stepan Goncharov is a senior research fellow at the Levada Center. Goncharov’s field of expertise and research interests include public opinion on international relations, use of media, and modern social processes in Russia. He is a regular contributor for ridl.io (Riddle), an online-journal on Russian affairs. Gonhcarov holds a Specialist degree in Political Science from Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) and has broad experience in qualitative studies.