Ecuador to transfer Russian weapons to US in exchange for new ones Moscow condemns the move
Russia's foreign ministry on February 2 condemned a decision by Ecuador to hand over Russian-made military hardware to the United States for use in Ukraine as a "reckless" breach of contract, Reuters reports Russia's RIA agency.
The Ecuadorean government said last month it would take up an offer from Washington to swap what it called "Ukrainian and Russian scrap metal" for advanced US equipment worth $200 million.
The United States has said the arms it gets from Ecuador will be sent to Ukraine to help bolster its forces on the battlefield against Russia.
Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry's spokeswoman, told RIA that Ecuador's decision was made under pressure from external forces.
"Such a reckless decision was taken by the Ecuadorian side under serious pressure from outside interested parties," she said.
"Our partners are well aware of the provisions of the contracts, which include an obligation to use the supplied equipment for the stated purposes and not to transfer it to a third party without obtaining the relevant agreement of the Russian side."
Authorities in Ecuador have said that Moscow had advised against the hardware swap, but that they believed they had the right to do it anyway.
Commander of United States Southern Command Laura Richardson said in January 2023 that Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and six more Latin American countries possess Russian-made weapons and the country would be willing to swap these Russian weapons for US-made ones if said countries agree to transfer them to Ukraine.
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