The prime ministers of Russia and Libya will meet in Moscow on Thursday for talks likely to centre on Moscow's hopes of rich contracts, including a share in a planned pipeline taking Libyan gas to Europe. Libya, a major oil and gas exporter, has become an attractive market for both Russia and the West since 2003, when the UN Security Council lifted sanctions against the country viewed for decades as a pariah by Western countries. A Russian government spokesman said Vladimir Putin and Libya's al-Baghdadi Ali Al-Mahmoudi would discuss “coordination of efforts to carry out agreements reached at the April summit in Tripoli.” Putin, who was then Russian president, and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi oversaw in April the signing of a deal under which Moscow agreed to cancel $4.5 billion of Tripoli's debt in exchange for a promise of lucrative contracts for Russian firms. Libya's natural gas is the biggest factor in Russia's drive. Russia's gas export monopoly Gazprom showed interest in taking part in the construction of a new gas pipeline linking Libya and Europe. Gazprom's plans are likely to irk Europe, which is struggling to find alternative sources of gas to lessen dependence on Russia. Libya currently exports about 8 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year to southern Sicily via the Greenstream pipeline, owned 50/50 by Eni and Libya's National Oil Co.
