RFE/RL NEWSLINE
Vol. 1, No. 60, 25 June 1997

RUSSIA RENEWS DRIVE TO SELL MiGS TO HUNGARY. A delegation of the State Duma's
Defense Committee has renewed the drive to convince Budapest to purchase
Russian-made aircraft, Hungarian media reported. Committee chairman Lev Rohlin
argued at a meeting with members of the Hungarian parliamentary Defense
Committee in Budapest on 24 June that the overhaul of 30 MiG-21 aircraft would
cost some $150-180 million, while the price of the same number of Western-made
planes would be at least $2 billion. He added that Russia is ready to sell
Hungary MiG-29 jets as well as SZ-300 missiles and noted that the deal could
help clear Russia's state debt to Hungary. A similar offer was made in late
May by Russian Deputy Premier Vladimir Bulgak during a visit to Budapest (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 27 May 1997).

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