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ALGIERS, Mar 11 (AFP): Russia and Algeria swapped debt repayment for military hardware Friday during a visit by President Vladimir Putin, with Algiers paying up to 7.5 billion dollars (6.3 billion euros) for weaponry but erasing its debt.
Under a document signed by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Algerian opposite number Mohammed Bedjaoui, Moscow is writing off 4.7 billion dollars that the North African nation owes it.
The figure, about a quarter of Algeria's external debt, which came to about 16 billion dollars at the start of this year, was accumulated in the 1960s and 1970s.
Russian news agencies said Algiers had agreed to buy military hardware worth at least as much as the debt write-off, and Rossia television quoted the head of Russia's arms export company Rosoboronexport as saying total orders would come to more than 7.5 billion dollars, including the warplanes.
Alexei Fedorov, managing director of Russian aviation company MIG, said the Algerian government had signed contracts to buy more than 3.5 billion dollars worth of military planes.
Russia's Itar-Tass agency said it involved 40 Mig-29 and 28 Su-30 fighter jets and 16 Yak-130 training aircraft.
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