5TH LEAD Syrian President al-Assad makes surprise visit to Moscow By dpa correspondents

Moscow/Beirut (dpa) - The Kremlin announced Wednesday that beleaguered Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had visited Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.The trip was the Syrian president‘s first official visit by outside Syria since the uprising against his regime started in 2011.Al-Assad and Putin discussed the war in Syria during secret talks Tuesday evening, the Kremlin spokesman said.Putin was "informed in detail by his Syrian colleague about the situation in Syria and about perspective plans," spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state media.The Russian president later telephoned with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi Arabia‘s King Salman, key backers of the Syrian opposition.The US State Department said Wednesday that US Secretary of State John Kerry would meet Friday in Vienna with the foreign ministers of Russia, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia.Kerry will hold separate meetings one-on-one with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.During their meeting, al-Assad told Putin, "if it were not for your actions and decisions, the terrorism that is spreading through the region now would have made even greater gains and spread to even wider territories," according to a Kremlin transcript.The US has said the Russian intervention is only prolonging the conflict by propping up the al-Assad regime."We view the red carpet welcome for Assad, who has used chemical weapons against his own people, at odds with the stated goal by the Russians for a political transition in Syria," White House spokesman Eric Schultz said."We urge Russia to use its influence with the Syrian regime to press for political transition. We know right now what they‘re doing is counterproductive."Russia began a bombing campaign against militant groups last month in Syria to support al-Assad‘s government, Russia‘s closest allies in the Middle East."I want to express our tremendous gratitude to the Russian leadership and people for the help they are providing Syria," al-Assad told Putin, according to the transcript.The Syrian president said the military strikes were "essential" because "terrorism is a real obstacle on the road to reaching a political settlement.""We all know that any military action must be followed by political steps," he told Putin.Middle Eastern powers including Saudi Arabia and Turkey have called for al-Assad to resign as part of a political solution to the conflict, which began as protests against his rule grew into riots after a government crackdown.Russia believes that instability in the Syrian government could allow extremist militants, including the Islamic State group, to take control by force.Al-Assad expressed his hope to Putin that they would be able to "vanquish terrorism and continue working together to rebuild [Syria] economically and politically and ensure a peaceful life for everyone."Official Syrian state television said the visit was the result of an invitation by Putin.Citing the presidency, Syrian radio reported that al-Assad had returned to the capital Damascus after a short visit to Moscow.Syrian opposition figures criticized the visit."This visit, which happened in total secrecy, shows that al-Assad does not trust the people around him," Ahmed Kamel, a member of the opposition Syrian National Coalition, told dpa. "Putin wants to show the world, through this visit, that he has an upper hand on Syria and that he holds all the solutions concerning the Syrian crisis."Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Wednesday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should stay in Moscow to give his people relief."If he would only stay forever, the transition could start that way," Davutoglu told journalists, the Turkish news agency Anadolu reported.The Turkish premier, whose government has long backed the Syrian opposition, said a political transition in Syria should ensure that al-Assad leaves office.Putin telephone Wednesday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about al-Assad‘s visit, the Kremlin said.Turkey has influence over Syrian rebels in the bordering Idlib and Aleppo regions, where Russian warplanes have been bombing.According to the United Nations, tens of thousands of people have fled Aleppo, which is divided between rebel-controlled areas and the government‘s territory.Turkish news agency Dogan, citing sources in the presidency, reported that Erdogan told Putin about Turkey‘s concern that Russian airstrikes around Aleppo could trigger a new refugee wave.Putin and Erdogan agreed to talk in detail in three weeks at the G20 summit in Turkey, the report said.Saudi Arabia‘s official news agency reported that Putin had called King Salman bin Abdulaziz to discuss regional developments.A Saudi source, who declined to be named, said the Russian president had updated Salman, a key backer of Syrian rebels, on his talks with al-Assad.The Saudi monarch in turn expressed his concern over the "obstinacy" of the Syrian regime and growing civilian casualties, the source said.