Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin enters a T-90AM tank during his visit to the Russian armament exhibition 'Expo Arms-2011' in the Urals town of Nizhny Tagil, Russia, on 09 September 2011.
Gaddafi fall cost Russia tens of billions in arms deals
Russia lost tens of billions of dollars in potential revenues from arms deals with Muammar Gaddafi’s fall, the official in charge of Russia’s arms exports said yesterday.
Russia, the world’s No. 2 arms exporter, has frequently cited losses of $4 billion in Libyan arms contracts.
“The figure of $4 billion is only nominal, the real lost revenue could top tens of billions of dollars,” said Mikhail Dmitriyev, the head of Russia’s Federal Service on Military and Technical Cooperation.
“There is no doubt there were losses… We have no contacts with the new Libyan leadership in the (defence) field any longer,” he told reporters in the northern city of St Petersburg.
The Kremlin has been criticised by some diplomats for its ambiguous stance in the Libya crisis: failing to support the Western-backed revolt against Gaddafi, backing sanctions against him and allowing Western military action.
Such was the discord within the Russian elite over Libya that it provoked a rare public disagreement between Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev:
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Gaddafi fall cost Russia tens of billions in arms deals | Libya TV
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