Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Moscow will continue helping Damascus in order to avoid a repetition of the Libyan scenario in Syria.

In a Thursday briefing with reporters in Moscow, Lavrov said that Russia’s military assistance to the Syrian government is meant to avoid a regime change in Syria like what the western powers orchestrated in Libya.

“We helped and we continue to help the Syrian government equip the Syrian army with everything it needs to prevent [a repetition of] the Libyan scenario and other regretful events that happened in that region because some of our Western partners were possessed with the idea of removing undesirable regimes,” Lavrov said.

He denied speculations that Russia is engaged in a military buildup in Syria as suggested by the United States and the NATO. Lavrov said, however, that Russia will continue to send military equipment to the Syrian government as well as the humanitarian items Damascus needs for its people.

“There are Russian military personnel in Syria; they have been there for several years. Their presence is tied to the deliveries of arms for the Syrian army that is taking the brunt in the fight against terrorism from the Islamic State (Daesh) and other extremist groups,” said the top Russian diplomat.

A handout picture released on July 26, 2015 by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows President Bashar al-Assad waving to the crowd following a speech in the capital Damascus. (AFP Photo)

The comments came against the backdrop of claims in the West that Russia is deploying troops and military personnel in Syria. Moscow says it has never kept its military cooperation with Syria a secret. It says “military specialists” are openly being sent to the Arab state, where the government is engaged in heavy battles with foreign-backed Takfiri terrorists.

Russia has been one of the main backers of the Syrian government since an armed militancy broke out there over four years ago. The US, nevertheless, has actively sought the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by supporting the militants operating in the country. Moscow and Washington have also been at odds over an armed conflict in Ukraine, where they support the opposing sides of a bloody battle in the east of the country.

Nearly 240,000 Syrians have been killed in the four-year violence.