BRATISLAVA -- Slovakia signed a deal accepting five Russian MIG- fighter planes as partial payment for old trade debts, Slovakian newspapers reported Wednesday.
Next year alone, Slovakia will import weapons worth $180 million from Russia to settle part of the former Soviet Union's $1.5 billion debt to Slovakia.
Although the exact contents of the deals signed Tuesday are unknown, Russian Deputy Premier Yuri Yarov said at least five MIG-29 aircrafts, one training plane and spare weapons parts would be included and the first shipment may be made before the end of the year.
Slovak Deputy Premier Sergej Kozlik called the deal a standard European contract that will strengthen the country's relationship with the Russian federation.
Kozlik acknowledged the deal was only a small payment and the remainder of the debt would be discussed at a special December meeting of the finance ministers in Moscow.
The idea of settling the trade debt with weapons was decided during the Moscow visit of Slovak Defense Minister Imrich Andrejcak on November 25 and 26.
Andrejcak met with his Russian counterpart Pavol Gracov to discuss this and details of the military cooperation agreement that was signed during Russian President Boris Yeltsin's August visit to Bratislava.
The military agreement, spawned from a memo signed by Slovak Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar and Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, is similar to the existing agreements Slovakia has with Austria, Germany and Poland.
Tuesday's session was a Slovak-Russian intergovernmental commission that discussed several agreements pending between the two nations including promotion and mutual protection of investments; Slovakia taking part in privatization in Russia; and agricultural technical cooperation.
The next full intergovernmental commission will be held in Moscow in 1994.
