OREANDA-NEWS. More than half of Russians (62%) believe that NATO is a military structure that is aimed at aggressive actions against the Russian Federation and its allies. This is evidenced by the data of a survey conducted by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM).

However, 15% of respondents indicated that the North Atlantic Alliance is a military alliance aimed at protecting the member countries of the organization.

According to the study, almost 60% of Russians (59%) have a negative attitude towards this military-political bloc. At the same time, every fifth (23%) is indifferent to NATO. 2% spoke positively about this community.

In addition, 46% of respondents agree that the current goal of the alliance, as it was at the time of its creation in 1949, remains the military-political containment of Russia, while 32% believe that this goal has changed.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that NATO countries must answer for their actions before calling Russia to account for conducting a special military operation in Ukraine.

Prior to this, the former Deputy Secretary General of the UN, French diplomat Jean-Marie Guéhenno expressed the opinion that the promise to admit Ukraine and Georgia to NATO, given during the 2008 summit, is the "worst compromise" of the alliance in relations with Russia.