Russians Expect Russo-polish Cooperation To Expand

Russians expect Russo-Polish cooperation to develop after President Vladimir Putin's forthcoming visit to Poland. According to a survey commissioned by RIA Novosti and conducted by the Centre for International Sociological Research, 5% of Russians expect that the two leaders' personal relationship will become stronger in the light of the visit. Many respondents hoped that the two countries would pool their efforts to fight terrorism and drug trafficking. Those questioned in Russia also said that the two countries should put aside their feelings of estrangement and work towards mutually beneficial cooperation. In their opinion, present-day Russo-Polish relations need to be improved and developed further in the new political and economic conditions of the two countries and Europe as a whole. In a survey commissioned by the Polish Press Agency and conducted by the Centre of Public Research, the majority of Poles (56.4%) said that they saw Moscow to a greater extent as a partner for Warsaw, while 15% said they saw Russia as an ally. In answer to the question, "Which areas of bilateral cooperation should be developed as a priority?", 72.55% of Polish respondents favoured trade-economic ties between government enterprises and private firms, cooperation between Polish and Russian regions, in particular, provinces in Poland bordering the Kaliningrad Region (18.4%), as well as ties in the tourist industry (17.1%).