Russia offered MiGs, tanks to settle NZ debt

Moscow offered to give New Zealand a nuclear submarine to help settle Russia's debt for Kiwi dairy products, a new book reveals.
Also offered in lieu of cash in the mid-1990s were MiG jets and tanks.
Russia and New Zealand tied the diplomatic relationship knot in 1944, and Russia's appetite for Kiwi agricultural products such as dairy products, meat, and wool, at times since elevating it to New Zealand's fifth-largest export market.
By 1993 it was heading north again, with Russia accumulating a large debt for dairy products and wool.
By 1998 the debt had reached $100 million.
stuff.co.nz