Russia wants to sell S-300 to Libya

Thursday, April 22, 1999

MOSCOW [MENL] -- Russia plans to sell Libya the advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missile system to Libya, an official says.

The Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta quotes Yuri Rodin-Sova, president of the Russian arms group Oboronitelniye Sistemy as saying that Libya has approached Moscow several times to purchase the system. "It is no secret that Libya is next in line ... now, the sanctions are lifted," he said. "They still have a lot of Russian-made military equipment and they want to receive new weapons."

The United Nations removed sanctions from Libya after it sent two agents to the Hague for trial on charges of bombing a Pan Am airliner over Lockerbie a decade ago.

Rodin-Sova said Russia would offer Libya the S-300 PMU-1 and the more advanced PMU-2. He said Russia had earlier offered Yugoslavia an older version of the S-300 but the sale was not approved.

Last year, Russia tried to sell the S-300 anti-aircraft system to Cyprus, sparking a crisis with neighboring Turkey.