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Presidential candidate Joe Biden will demand hard political reforms from Bashar Al-Assad's regime and Russia if Syria is to receive US reconstruction funding, according to Arabic-language media.

An adviser for Biden, the Democrats candidate for president, told a group of Syrians that if elected he will not soften US policy towards the Assad regime, according to Alsharq Alawsat, which is responsible for the majority of the 500,000 deaths during the war.

The regime must ease its hold on power, address the refugee issue, and release detainees if reconstruction money is to be unlocked, the report said.

"[A Biden administration] will make clear to Russian President Vladimir Putin that there can be no American, or European, support for the reconstruction of Syria unless political reform takes place, and that reform must be meaningful," the report read.

"Additionally, the main humanitarian issues must be addressed, and presidential accountability must take place. Biden stressed the need to release prisoners, while keeping the US sanctions on the Syrian regime and the entities that deal with it in place, including Russia."

The newspaper, which had spoken to leading Syrian-Americans, said a Biden administration would reassert US authority and stand up to Russia, a key backer of the Assad regime.

This will include maintaining the US' military footprint in northern Syria, which President Donald Trump has threatened to scale down to zero.

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