Russian aircraft are delivering military supplies as well as humanitarian aid to Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed on Thursday, but denied that Moscow had increased its activities in the war-torn country.

Russian aircraft are delivering military supplies as well as humanitarian aid to Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed on Thursday, but denied that Moscow had increased its activities in the war-torn country.

The United States and NATO have expressed concerns in recent days about a possible Russian military buildup at a Syrian airfield.

Russia has backed the regime of President Bashar al-Assad since the 2011 start of Syria's civil war, providing weapons and military experts to help train Syria's military throughout the more than four-year-long conflict.

Lavrov on Thursday once again confirmed that Russia has military personnel in Syria, but said that current deliveries were in line with existing contracts when asked about Russian planes flying to the airfield near the Syrian city of Latakia.

"Russian planes are sending to Syria both military equipment in accordance with current contracts and humanitarian aid," Lavrov told reporters.

The State Department said that Secretary of State John Kerry had aired the US concerns to Lavrov for a first time on Saturday, telling him that if there was indeed a Russian buildup, "these actions could further escalate the conflict". Kerry spoke to Lavrov for a second time on Wednesday to discuss "the problems of regulating the conflict in Syria", the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement, without providing further details.

Three Russian military transport planes landed in Syria and new housing units had been set up at the airport in the port city of Latakia, US officials said on Tuesday, moves that suggest a possible increase in Russia's military support for Assad's regime.

But Moscow denies that its activities in the country have gone beyond its known deliveries on commercial contracts and activities at the Soviet-era naval facility in the coastal city of Tartus.

'Hundreds' of people

At least three Russian aircraft landed at the airport in Latakia on Syria's Mediterranean coast over the past several days, US officials told AFP on Tuesday on condition of anonymity. Two of the aircraft were giant Antonov-124 Condor planes and a third was a passenger flight, one officials said.

The Russians have installed modular housing units -- enough for "hundreds" of people -- at the airport, as well as portable air traffic control equipment.

"All of this seems to be suggesting that Russia is planning to do some sort of forward air-operating hub out of this airfield," the official said.

Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook was quick to condemn the reported moves, saying that any "effort to bolster the Assad regime right now would potentially be destabilizing".

Syria has also denied the reports of increased military activity by Russian troops on its soil.

(FRANCE 24 with AP and AFP)

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