Russians See Most Nations Accepting Crimea Takeover, Poll Says

Most Russians believe that other countries will accept Crimea as part of Russia within a few years, despite international sanctions imposed in response to the takeover, a poll showed.

Seventy percent of Russians think a majority of countries will recognize President Vladimir Putin’s annexation of the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine during the next few years, while 8 percent say it will never happen, according to the survey to be published on Wednesday by the state-run All-Russia Center for the Study of Public Opinion, known as VTsIOM. Fifteen percent think recognition will come after a decade or more.