Amajority of Russians say escalating tensions in Syria with the United States and other allies in the West could spark World War III.

A poll released this week conducted by the independent, Moscow-based Levada Center revealed that 57 percent of Russian respondents have fears that a third world war could be sparked by the ongoing, multi-faceted conflict in Syria. The survey of 1,600 people from 52 regions within the Russian Federation found that 41 percent of Russians have “some concerns” over the conflict leading to World War III, while 16 percent said it was a “big concern.”

Last month, the U.S. and its European allies amped up aggressions in the civil war-torn Middle East country by launching airstrikes on three locations. The U.S. said the targeted sites produced chemical weapons and was in retaliation for a suspected chemical attack that killed 40 people the week before in Damascus. The Syrian civil war began in 2011 primarily as a loose coalition of Sunni Arab rebel groups fighting against the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party government of the Syrian Arab Republic led by President Bashar al-Assad. Russia was primarily involved in supplying or facilitating weapons between Iran, Hezbollah and Syria until September 2015, when Russia began conducting military air operations in support of Assad’s government.

Google searches for “World War 3” spiked last month during President Donald Trump and the U.S.-led missile attacks.

Source :  www.newsweek.com