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.
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.
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.
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.
Russia insists its air campaign is intended to target the extremist Islamic State group and others it describes as "terrorists".