US hits Moscow's 'red carpet' welcome for Syrian President Assad

The White House strongly condemned the "Red Carpet" welcome for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Assad's trip to Moscow is just three weeks after Russia started its air strike operations against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq.

Meanwhile, BBC News reported that it was Assad's first trip out of Syria after the civil war broke in 2011, claiming some half a million lives. A team of Russian MPs are also slated to meet Assad and Syrian parliament head on Thursday in Damascus.

A report from Strait Times writes the White House accused Moscow of impending progress to political transition by welcoming Assad.

The Syrian president met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow Tuesday to thank the Russian military for launching the air strikes against the enemies in Syria. Assad said the Russian intervention in the war had stopped terrorism from becoming widespread and harmful.

The two leaders agreed that political steps must be done after the military operations.

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Eric Schultz said that the US believes, "the red carpet welcome for Assad, who has used chemical weapons against his own people, as at odds with the stated goal by the Russians for a political transition in Syria."

In a report from Asia Times, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al Jubeir said Thursday that Assad must be removed from power to eliminate militant group Islamic State, since it was Assad that attracted foreign fighters to fight for the Islamic State against the Syrian president's regime.

Jubeir said, "We discussed the situation in Syria and how to find a peaceful solution for the conflict that guarantees Syria's future and leads to a transitional period that does not include Bashar al-Assad."

On the side of Russia, Putin said that Moscow only hoped for a long-term resolution through political process with participation from various factions, including the ethnic and religious groups.