Seventy-eight percent of Americans and 67 percent of Russians said their leaderships should refrain from deploying any weapons in space as long as no other country does so, according to the poll by WorldPublicOpinion.org.

Eighty percent of Americans and 72 percent of Russians also favor a new treaty banning all weapons in space, said the survey conducted with the Center for International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland (CISSM).

A overwhelming majority of Americans and Russians -- 86 percent each -- put a high priority on preventing an arms race in space, according to the poll of 1,247 Americans and 1,601 Russians surveyed over two weeks in September.

A slim majority of Russians, 53 percent, list this as a top priority.

"What is striking is the robust consensus -- among Russians as well as Americans, and among Republicans as well as Democrats -- that space should not be an arena for the major powers to compete for military advantage," said Steven Kull, director of WorldPublicOpinion.org, in a statement.

Seventy-eight percent of Americans and 65 percent of Russians supported a treaty banning countries from attacking or interfering with each others' satellites, even when told of the potential benefits of disabling satellites.

Some 79 percent of Americans and 63 percent of Russians back a treaty that would prevent countries from testing or deploying anti-satellite weapons systems, even told that arms control treaties are sometimes ineffective.

Seventy-seven percent of Americans and 61 percent of Russians support a treaty prohibiting interference with satellites.

John Steinbruner, director of CISSM, said Americans and Russians shared a common view of what is best for their security.

"The use of space for common protection is, in fact, far more important for all countries under the circumstances of globalization than the pursuit of national advantage in performing traditional military missions," Steinbruner said in a statement.

The survey asked Americans how they would like candidates in the election for a new president to tackle the issue of US national security and space weapons.

Sixty-seven percent said they would have more confidence in a candidate "who favors a treaty banning weapons in space," including 57 percent of Republicans and 73 percent of Democrats.

The US poll was fielded by Knowledge Networks and the Russian survey fielded by the Levada Center. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.0 percent.

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