Libya Arms Deal

"We were informed about the discussions," government spokesman Thomas Steg said Monday, referring to the 300 million euros ($411 million) worth of Milan-type anti-tank missile and communications systems that Libya has ordered from the jointly owned French-German European Aeronautic Space and Defense Company (EADS).

Although EADS is partly owned by German auto giant DaimlerChrysler and components of the Milan-type missiles are produced in Germany by EADS subsidiary MBDA, the government sees no need for negotiation, added Steg.

He referenced a 1972 German-French treaty stating that the explicit approval of the other was not necessary in matters of armament exports by joint enterprises.

"France's armament export policy doesn't contradict the spirit of German-French cooperation," said the spokesman.

Steg also denied suspicions that the Libyan arms deal was linked to the recent release of six Bulgarian medics who had been sentenced to death for deliberately infecting 400 children with the HIV virus.

Criticism from coalition leader

In an interview published in Monday's edition of German daily Handelsblatt, Walter Kolbow, chairmen of coalition partner the Social Democratic Party, was sceptical of the missile deal.

He suggested that the government examine the deal more in depth before tacitly approving, implying that it may indeed have had something to do with the release of the medics. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has repeatedly denied any connection between the two agreements.

It is with good reason that the European Union has maintained a lukewarm policy toward Libya since the end of the arms embargo three years ago, said Kolbow.

The EADS deal is the first arms agreement Libya has made with a European country since 2004.