Before Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi came to the Russian capital, Moscow, on a state visit last week, analysts thought he would sign military contracts worth between $2 billion and $4.5 billion with Russia. However, while the Kremlin staff was busy searching for a place to build a Bedouin tent for Gadhafi, the "son of the desert" was thinking about his bargaining tactic in the former Soviet republics of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.

Russians view the three countries as fraternal, but Gadhafi sees them as the "Slavic bazaar" where he can induce them to compete against each other.

The colonel's itinerary was carefully plotted, from Russia to Belarus and to Ukraine, because in Moscow the Libyan leader saw the full range of Russian military items for sale, such as the Kamov Ka-52 Alligator helicopter, the Sukhoi Su-35 multirole fighter, the T-90 Main Battle Tank and the latest version of Russia's advanced S-300 anti-aircraft and anti-ballistic-missile air defense system.

Even the Russian army lacks most of these novel systems, which definitely are not cheap. Russia has other cheaper, simpler arms for sale. It inherited them from the Soviet Union, just as Belarus and Ukraine did.

I was a military translator in Libya in the mid-1980s, and I know the Libyan army had Soviet arms made in the 1960s and early 1970s. They proved highly effective during war games, as well as in wars. Gadhafi was fighting a war in Chad at that time, which Libya did not advertise.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko offered Gadhafi Soviet-made weapons.

Two factors -- the price and the buyer's feeling about the seller -- are crucial at a bazaar where sellers offer similar goods. Gadhafi is an experienced politician who has held power for close to 40 years, and he has a personality comparable to those of Russian politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Belarusian President Lukashenko.

It is therefore not surprising that during their visit to Minsk the leaders of Russia and Belarus spoke about their countries' similar positions and the need to build a multipolar world. Gadhafi recalled that it was Belarus that "extended a hand of friendship" to Libya when international sanctions were imposed on it.

Gadhafi first met with Lukashenko in 2000, when the Belarusian president was in Libya on an official visit during which the two leaders created the groundwork for bilateral relations. Gadhafi told Lukashenko on that occasion that he was always welcome in Libya, and the Belarusian leader promised to come to Tripoli again.

(Part 2: Gadhafi's competitive strategy)

(Andrei Murtazin is a commentator for RIA Novosti. This article is reprinted by permission of RIA Novosti. The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.)

(United Press International's "Outside View" commentaries are written by outside contributors who specialize in a variety of important issues. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of United Press International. In the interests of creating an open forum, original submissions are invited.)

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