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In a December 14 interview with Russia’s state-owned RIA Novosti, the former Austrian vice chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, argued that Europeans are looking to end the war in Ukraine.Strache, a far-right politician, has a history of alliance with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party. In the interview, he blamed Ukraine and NATO for dragging out the conflict and said Europeans want the war settled early through negotiation:"EU citizens do not want a further escalation of the conflict and the supply of weapons (by NATO and EU countries to Kyiv – RIA Novosti), but, ultimately, serious and honest peace initiatives."Problem is, that characterization of European opinion is misleading. Polls show that support for Ukraine varies depending on how, when and where the questions are asked. It's true that Europeans want peace, but they generally agree that military and other aid to Ukraine is needed to get there.Germany’s Dalia Research conducted three surveys of 12,000 interviews each across the 27 European Union member countries from March to September for the Bertelsmann Foundation, a German think-tank.Results showed that at least half backed sending weapons to Ukraine. Asked in September, Should your country support Ukraine by delivering weapons?" 50% said yes. Phrased as "Should the EU support Ukraine by delivering weapons?" 55% answered yes.Those numbers did decline from March. In the latest survey
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