Almost a quarter (24%) of Russians consider Nagorno Karabakh to be an independent state, a survey held by Russian Public Opinion Research Center shows.

According to the survey, 56% of Russians favor peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict, while 14% of those polled believe that it can not be solved without the use of force. 30% of didn't have any specific stance on the issue.

About 45% of Russians were aware of recent escalations in the conflict zone, with 10% well-informed about the situation; 52% of those polled first heard about the mounting tension in the conflict zone during the survey.