Russia might lose billions in arms sales to Libya

MOSCOW: A Russian arms expert says Moscow could lose billions of dollars in arms sales to Libya after the U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions on Moammar Gadhafi's regime.

Tripoli actively bought Soviet weapons in the 1980s, and in January 2010, Moscow announced a $1.8 billion deal for Libya to buy six Yak-130 military planes. Talks were under way for other multibillion arms contracts.

Independent arms expert Pavel Felgenhauer said Sunday the contracts and the talks were suspended after Gadhafi brutally suppressed anti-government protests across the North African nation.

The Interfax news agency cited an unnamed Russian military official as saying the Russian losses might amount to $4 billion.