WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- As the U.S.-Russia ties are becoming increasingly strained, more Americans still believe that their government should continue its efforts to improve bilateral relations rather than stepping up confrontational moves, said a recent poll done by a leading U.S. analytics company.
The poll showed that about 58 percent of Americans said it was more important to improve relations with Russia, while 36 percent preferred to take strong diplomatic and economic steps against Moscow, said Gallup in a recently released report.
The survey also found that about two-thirds of Americans admitted they were following the news about Russia and its alleged involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential election closely, including 33 percent of recipients saying "very closely." The number was above the average 60 percent level of attention paid to more than 200 news stories Gallup has asked about since 1991.
Meanwhile, Democrats were more likely to say they were following the news "very closely," said the survey.
The report also revealed when Gallup asked a similar question in 1994, it witnessed an even larger margin preferred improving relations with Russia over sanctions, which was 76 percent versus 20 percent.
The United States has been accusing Russia of interference in the U.S. presidential elections in 2016, hacker attacks against the United States, among others. Russia has repeatedly denied such allegations.
Washington has launched several rounds of sanctions against Moscow since 2017. Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order to further implement a U.S. sanction act against Russia, blacklisting another 33 Russian entities and individuals allegedly linked to the defense sector and secret services.
