Syrian President Bashar al-Assad paid a surprise visit to Moscow to meet with the Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding Russia’s role in stopping the ISIS terror from spreading worldwide.

Assad reached Russia secretly on Tuesday and had a talk with Putin on the same night, though the visit was announced only after the former left for Damascus on Wednesday. It was the first foreign visit by Assad since 2011, when Syria became embroiled in a civil war.

At the meeting, Assad thanked Putin for conducting airstrikes against the ISIS. “First of all I wanted to express my huge gratitude to the whole leadership of the Russian Federation for the help they are giving Syria,” Assad told Putin, as reported by Reuters. “If it was not for your actions and your decisions, the terrorism which is spreading in the region would have swallowed up a much greater area,” he added.

Since Sep. 30, Russia has been launching airstrikes against Syria, for which it had to face several allegations from the United States authorities. The U.S. criticised Russia’s support for Assad and claimed that Russian airstrikes targeted the ISIS members but also destroyed the lives of around 120 civilians.

Both presidents agreed to launch military processes to minimise ISIS threat among the masses. In reference to Moscow's hope for a better future, Putin said that introducing a “positive dynamic in the fighting” could help achieve a long-term reform if the political process is mixed with the participation of ethnic and religious groups as well as political forces.

During Assad’s visit, Putin indicated that Russia has the capability to free Syria from the ISIS. He specified that West Russia has now become a key player as far as the Middle East is concerned.

After Assad met with his Russian counterpart, Moscow announced that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would meet with U.S. State Secretary John Kerry, along with their Turkish and Saudi counterparts, on Friday to discuss the present Syrian political situation.

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