Moscow, Russia (BBN)-Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has visited Moscow on his first overseas trip since the civil war broke out in his country in 2011, state TV says.
During the surprise visit, he held talks with President Vladimir Putin, reports BBC.
Russia launched air strikes in Syria last month against the so-called Islamic State and other militant groups battling Assad's forces.
Assad said Russia's involvement had stopped the spread of "terrorism" becoming "more widespread and harmful".
For his part, Putin said the Syrian people had been "almost alone... resisting, fighting international terrorism for several years".
"They had suffered serious losses, but recently have been achieving serious results in this fight," he said.
The visit happened on Tuesday evening, but was not announced until Wednesday - after Assad had returned to Damascus.
BBN/SK/AD