Assad wants Syrians to learn the Russian language to counter 'US' and 'extremism'

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said Syrians should learn the Russian language to counter "Western and extremist influence", as the two war allies grow closer.

Assad made remarks during a meeting with a Russian lawmaker, state news agency TASS reported on Tuesday.

Assad said Russian language centres should be opened across the war-torn country as a "cultural alternative" to the West and Wahhabism - the ultra-conservative school of Islam.

"The problem with Arab countries is that half of them are influenced by extremist ideas and the other half are drawn to Western culture," Assad said.

"Some have the brains of Wahhabis while others have the brains of Americans. That's why people hate each other and why should give them an alternative."

He added that Syrians should be trained as Russian instructors to overcome a shortage of language teachers at government schools.

The move comes as Damascus grows culturally closer to Russia, after Moscow intervened militarily in the civil war to prevent the fall of the Assad regime amid widespread losses to rebels.

Since then Russia has had a large degree of influence over Syrian affairs. The Russian language has been part of the secondary school curriculum since 2015.

Russian airstrikes are believed to have killed tens of thousands of civilians in opposition areas.