Syria's Assad in surprise visit to Moscow

State-run TV station Russia Today aired footage of the meeting between Assad and Putin

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad flew into Moscow on Tuesday for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in his first trip abroad since start of the war in 2011.

The leaders discussed their joint military campaign against rebels in Syria, a Kremlin spokesman said on Wednesday.

"The president of the Syrian Arab Republic Bashar al-Assad came on a working visit to Moscow yesterday evening and held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin," the spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters.

The Syrian presidency confirmed that Assad was in Moscow and said he had already returned to Damascus.