Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has ruled out Russia’s participation in the protracted armed conflict in Syria, stressing Moscow had no intention of supporting any political forces inside the embattled Arab Republic.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has ruled out Russia's participation in the protracted armed conflict in Syria, stressing Moscow had no intention of supporting any political forces inside the embattled Arab Republic, RT website reported.

Calling the possibility of Russia's involvement in Syria’s conflict “out of the question,” the minister defended Russia’s military and technological cooperation in the region which has served to “promote stability in the Middle East,” Lavrov said in response to a question from the newspaper Argumenty i Fakty, and published on the Russian Foreign Ministry website.

On the subject of military and technological cooperation, the minister took an opportunity to mention that the Russian naval logistics center in Tartus is still “functioning as usual."

Speaking on the overall political climate, Lavrov said Russia’s cooperation with Syria was never intended to support any particular political force inside of the country.

He reiterated Russia’s opinion that the Syrian people have the right to resolve the internal conflict by themselves.

"We are categorically against external interference in what is happening in Syria, especially with the use of force,” he said. “We are doing all we can to stop the bloodshed and get the parties to the negotiating table so that the Syrian people…can agree on how their country's political system will be organized in the future."

Lavrov pointed out that a relatively large Russian diaspora lived in Syria before the hostilities began.

"A lot of our citizens have had to return to Russia, but thousands of Russians are still there,” he noted. “We are carefully following the situation and will announce any developments that may affect Russian citizens.

Their security is our main concern, he concluded.