Libya seeking to buy Russian arms: PM Putin

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin speaks during a government meeting in Moscow July 28, 2008.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Libya is interested in buying Russian weapons, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was quoted as saying on Thursday.

"We intend to continue cooperation in the military-technical sphere," Putin was quoted as saying by Russia's RIA news agency after talks with Libyan Prime Minister al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi.

"The Libyan leadership has confirmed it is interested in buying high-quality products from Russia's military industrial complex," Putin said.

In April, Russia agreed to write off more than $4 billion of Libya's debt in exchange for lucrative contracts for Russian firms, including arms contracts.

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, editing by Peter Millership)