Military-technological cooperation with Libya could be revived in the short-term prospect, Vyacheslav Dzirkaln, deputy director of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technological Cooperation, said.
“We have closely been following the processes in this country and want to keep in touch with our Libyan partners. And, in my opinion, we will return to Libya, possibly not on the previous scale, but, nevertheless, we will certainly find our segment on the Libyan weapons market,” he told Interfax-AVN on the sidelines of the IDEX 2013 defense exhibition in the United Arab Emirates.
The Libyan authorities are now working vigorously to rekindle Russia’s interest in Libya’s arms market, he said.
“Preliminary consultations have already been held. Offers have been announced. But the problem is that their centralized national government has not been formed completely yet,” Dzirkaln said.
Asked whether there is any chance to restore weapons export contracts previously signed with Libya, Dzirkaln said that a great deal would depend on the future political realities and the tasks Libya’s new leadership could set to the country’s Armed Forces.
“The Machine Building Design Bureau has already been asked to hold consultations on its contracts,” he said.
Russian weapons exporters are actively working with Egypt despite ongoing tensions there, he said.
“The situation is not hopeless there. We are ready to work and will work,” the Russian official said.
Russian exporters are also looking for new markets, he said.
“Bahrain has emerged as a partner recently. This country is not very large, but it is also interesting for us. There are certain prospects in Kuwait as well,” Dzirkaln said.
