In his first foreign trip since civil war began in Syria in 2011, President Bashar al-Assad travelled to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin late on Tuesday. The Kremlin reported that the presidents met after Putin extended the invitation, and had a long discussion on Russian military support for the Assad regime.

Assad reportedly told Putin about the ground realities of Syria's situation and the plans in place for the future, while Putin said Russia was ready to contribute to the fight against terrorism.

Russia began air strikes in Syria three weeks ago. The official Syrian news agency's report claimed Assad said "the involvement of the Russian Air Force in the operations against terrorism in Syria has helped in halting the spread of the terrorist organisations". The Syrian president also demanded that support for his opponents be halted.