Russian Ambassador to Tripoli Vladimir Chamov was relieved of his duties by President Medvedev. In a diplomatic cable, Chamov supposedly referred to Dmitry Medvedev as a "traitor", something that he has denied.

The fact remains that, on arrival at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo’s airport, Mr. Chamov told the press that Russia couldn’t afford to lose a commercial partner like Libya. Moscow and Tripoli clinched several contract agreements worth tens of billions of dollars stretching into the next decade. In addition to oil exploitation, Chamov mentioned 4 billion dollar arms contracts and 3.1 billion dollars for railway construction.

(Photo : Ambassador Vladimir Chamov (R) with his friend Vladimir Putin)