Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi, speaking
Saturday on the first full day of his visit to Russia, said the visit was
giving a fresh impulse to relations between Moscow and Tripoli, dpa reported.
Cooperation in the energy sector was of particular importance at the
moment, he was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying during a meeting with
president Dmitri Medvedev.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was meanwhile quoted as saying talks on
arms sales to Libya would take more time.
Gaddafi arrived in Moscow Friday for the three-day visit which the Kremlin
hopes will lead to weapons purchases as Moscow makes a push to renew Soviet-era
relations with Libya since former president Vladimir Putin traveled to Tripoli
in April.
A contract for the delivery of Russian SU-30 fighter jets, T-90 battle tanks
and other weapons was likely to be signed at some point in the meetings with
Gaddafi, business daily Vedemosti said, citing a source at Russia's state
technology agency.
Advanced Russian Tor-M2E surface-to-air missile systems may be part of the
weapons deal, the paper added.
Another business daily, Kommersant, said that Libya was prepared to grant
Russia's request to establish a naval base for its fleet in the Mediterranean
Sea.
Moscow in April agreed to write off Tripoli's 4.6 billion dollar debt in
exchange for various business contracts in Libya, including road construction,
housing and other infrastructure projects.
Russia's railway monopoly RZD has been in negotiations to seal a
2.3-billion-dollars deal to build a 554-kilometre rail link in the country.
Russian energy giant Gazprom also signed a provisional agreement with Libya's
National Oil Corporation on joint ventures.
Libya is considered the continent's fourth largest country in estimated gas
reserves, but remains relatively untapped.
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