Syria's embattled President Bashar al-Assad travelled to Moscow for his first foreign trip since the conflict broke out in his country in 2011, holding key talks on the crisis with President Vladimir Putin.<br />Assad, who last visited Russia in 2008, used the surprise visit on Tuesday evening to thank Putin for launching a campaign of air strikes in Syria last month, with the two leaders agreeing that military operations must be followed by political steps.<br />Putin pledged to continue to support Damascus militarily, while calling for a political solution involving all groups to try to end the war, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.<br />Assad told Putin that the Russian air bombardments launched on September 30 - which have caused concern in the West - had helped stop the spread of "terrorism" in his country, the Kremlin said.<br />Russia insists its air campaign is intended to target the extremist Islamic State group and others it describes as "terrorists".
