Ambassador: Russian become second spoken language in Syria

Many Syrian families name their sons after Russian President Vladimir Putin, Syrian Ambassador to Moscow Riyad Haddad said, speaking at the Russian Federation Council.

"When Syrian President Bashar al-Assad announced that Russian should become the second spoken language in Syria, he meant to thank the Russian people for their support. Besides, many Syrian families have been naming their sons Putin," TASS cited the ambassador as saying.

The Syrian diplomat added that Assad has provided land near Damascus free of charge to build a Russian school.