White House slams 'red carpet' treatment of Assad in Moscow

REUTERS

"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 told reporters on October 21, RFE/RL has reported.

Assad flew to Moscow in the evening on October 20 to thank Putin personally for his military support, in a surprise visit that Russian state media cast as a diplomatic coup.

It was Assad's first foreign visit since the start of the Syrian crisis in 2011, and came three weeks after Russia launched a campaign of air strikes against Islamist militants and rebels in Syria that has bolstered Assad's forces.