Russian oil monopoly executive freed in Libya

The head of Russian oil company Lukoil’s office in Libya, arrested in Tripoli in November last year, has been released. Aleksandr Tsygankov has been brought to Moscow on board the Libyan Prime Minister's plane.

Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmudi is currently on an official visit to Russia.

During a meeting with his counterpart, Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin expressed gratitude to the Libyan leader Muammar Al-Gaddafi for the release of Tsygankov.

The Lukoil representative was arrested in November 2007 on suspicion of industrial espionage while working in the North African country. However, he faced no official charges and was freed following a request by the Russian government.