Russian defence minister flies to Syria, hands to Assad message from Putin

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu travelled to Syria on Tuesday where he handed a message from President Vladimir Putin to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, the defence ministry said.

The Russian ministry said Shoigu and Assad had discussed the fight against global terrorism in Syria and various aspects of security in the Middle East.

(Reporting by Andrew Osbron. Writing by Andrey Kuzmin; Editing by Gareth Jones)