Moscow, September 10 (RHC)-- 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.

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.