--- description: Syrian President Bashar Assad arrived in Moscow on Tuesday for an unannounced meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin title: Putin and Assad Discuss Military Efforts at Surprise Meeting image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt92ee334805a54579/6988691fe20a871fe2a8dd11/bashar-assad-putin-vladimir.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [russia](/tag/russia/) ## russia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Syrian President Assad Makes Surprise Moscow Trip to Talk Tactics With Vladimir Putin by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 21, 2015 7:36 AM CUT  Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Bashar al-Assad during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, on Oct. 20, 2015. Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Bashar al-Assad during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, on Oct. 20, 2015.Alexei Druzhinin—RIA Novosti/Reuters by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 21, 2015 7:36 AM CUT Syrian President Bashar Assad arrived in Moscow on Tuesday for an unannounced meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Saudi broadcaster al-Arabiya [reported](http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/10/21/Syria-s-Assad-visited-Moscow-and-met-Putin.html "undefined"). The meeting, which a Kremlin spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday, centered on the ongoing joint military campaign in Syria against the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS). Russia began air strikes against extremist targets in the country last month, though top U.S. officials have condemned Moscow’s campaign as “reckless” and allege that strikes are also targeting U.S.-backed “moderate” rebels opposed to the Assad regime. Syrian media said the meeting marked Assad’s first trip outside of the country since its civil war began four years ago. According to a transcript provided by the Kremlin, Putin said Russia hoped to contribute “not only to military action … but to the political process \[in Syria\] too.” Syria, Putin said, is Russia’s “friend.” [**Read more: Timeline: The Rise of ISIS**](http://time.com/4030714/isis-timeline-islamic-state/ "undefined") Earlier on Tuesday, [the U.S. and Russia signed a deal](http://time.com/4080292/u-s-russia-syria/ "undefined") to avoid potential incidents between their air forces operating over Syria. The agreement came 10 days after a Russian fighter plane flew within miles of a U.S. jet in the region. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4080886/russia-syria-meeting-isis-moscow/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4080886/russia-syria-meeting-isis-moscow/"},"headline":"Syrian President Assad Makes Surprise Moscow Trip to Talk Tactics With Vladimir Putin","datePublished":"2015-10-21T07:36:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T11:57:15.810Z","description":"Putin described Syria as Russia's \"friend\"","url":"https://time.com/4080886/russia-syria-meeting-isis-moscow/","keywords":["russia","Syria","Bashar Assad","ISIS","Vladimir Putin","moscow"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt92ee334805a54579/6988691fe20a871fe2a8dd11/bashar-assad-putin-vladimir.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nash Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt92ee334805a54579/6988691fe20a871fe2a8dd11/bashar-assad-putin-vladimir.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Russian President Putin shakes hands with Syrian President Assad during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow","caption":"Russian President Putin shakes hands with Syrian President Assad during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow","creditText":"Alexei Druzhinin—RIA Novosti/Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/russia/","name":"russia"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4080886/russia-syria-meeting-isis-moscow/","name":"Syrian President Assad Makes Surprise Moscow Trip to Talk Tactics With Vladimir Putin"}}]}] ```