A Kremlin source on Tuesday called Muammar Gaddafi a "living political corpse", and said the Libyan leader should step down, Russia's Interfax news agency reported.

Russia rarely criticises authoritarian leaders, but President Dmitry Medvedev last week condemned Gaddafi's use of violence against protesters calling for his overthrow and said continued bloodshed would be a crime under international law.

The Kremlin source said it was time for Gaddafi to step down, calling him "a living political corpse who has no place in the modern civilised world."

Moscow supported a UN Security Council resolution on Saturday for an arms embargo and other sanctions. Russia currently has around $2 billion in defence contracts with Libya, Interfax previously cited a source as saying. – Reuters