Ecuador canceled arms exports to Ukraine

The government of Eduador has decided to reconsider its decision to transfer its six old Soviet-era helicopters to the United States, from where the helicopters were supposed to be transported to the use of the Ukrainian armed forces, says the US Deputy Secretary of State for South American Affairs Kevin Sullivan. 

As compensation, Ecuador would have received newer American helicopters from the United States.

The president of Ecuador announced the exchange Daniel Noboa in January, saying that it was mostly old Russian war material that had already turned into scrap metal. According to the president, in the exchange, Ecuador would receive new American weaponry, the value of which would be around 200 million dollars.

According to President Noboa, it was six Russian MI-171E military helicopters, long-range rocket launchers and shoulder-launched Igla anti-aircraft missiles. The Ecuadorian media reported that the Russian material originated in the 1990s. As compensation, the country would receive equipment from the United States that would be suitable for the fight against drug cartels.

According to publicly available information, the United States intended to hand over Black Hawk military helicopters to Ecuador. The number of helicopters has not been disclosed.

Throughout the war in Ukraine, the United States has tried to acquire Russian-made weapons, ammunition and weapon systems from various countries, which it has transferred to the Ukrainian armed forces. After the country gained independence in 1991, Ukraine was left with a lot of Soviet-era weaponry.

Representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova criticized Ecuador's decision right from the start and estimated that "strong pressure from outside parties" influenced the decision. He also reminded that Ecuador committed itself to the agreement when acquiring Russian material, that it cannot transfer them to a third party without Russia's consent.

Zaharova also wondered about the talk about scrap metal. "If it was about scrap, the United States would hardly be willing to give up 200 million worth of modern equipment in a barter trade."

The crisis that has plagued the relations between Ecuador and Russia for a few weeks now seems to be resolved after Ecuador decided to reconsider its decision from January.

Ecuadorian President Noboa met with the Russian ambassador on Friday by Vladimir Sprinchan and announced that Ecuador will not hand over old Russian equipment to the United States. 

According to the ambassador, Ecuador does not send weapons and ammunition to war zones, but wants to help resolve conflicts peacefully using diplomatic tools. The ambassador said that he had discussed the relations between the countries and the problems that arose in detail with the president.

President Noboa had stated in the discussion that Ecuador does not want to be drawn into the conflict because it is a neutral member of the UN.

Ecuador will officially announce its new decision in the next few days.

Banana imports to Russia can continue

Relations between the two countries have also been affected by the one responsible for the import of agricultural products to Russia Notice from the Rosselkhoznadzor agency to the Ecuadorian Ministry of Agriculture that a disease requiring quarantine has been detected in bananas imported from Ecuador and therefore it has been decided to temporarily suspend banana imports by five Ecuadorian companies. 

The suspension targeted about a fifth of all Ecuador's banana imports to Russia. The decision was made at the beginning of February. About 90 percent of the bananas imported to Russia come from Ecuador.

The export of Ecuadorian bananas to Russia directly employs 25 citizens and more than three thousand small producers. Russia's share of Ecuador's banana exports is about a fifth. The Russian ambassador said that he also discussed with the president of Ecuador about the suspension of banana imports. 

President Noboa said that his country immediately took the necessary measures to ensure the quality of bananas exported to Russia. The president thanked Russia for being ready to take action in cooperation with the Ecuadorian authorities to solve the problems.

The director of the Rosselkhoznadzor agency already announced on Friday that five Ecuadorian companies can continue importing bananas to Russia. A day earlier, it was also reported about the Ecuadorian delegation's visit to Russia and the already organized video discussion between the countries' agricultural authorities.