Ecuador is considering the possibility of transferring old Soviet weapons to the United States in exchange for new American ones

Ecuador is considering the possibility of transferring old Soviet weapons to the United States, which Washington can then give to Kyiv, Deputy Secretary of State Kevin Sullivan said.

Source. This was reported by AFP.

"As far as I understand, the Ecuadorian government is still studying this issue. – "This agreement is aimed at transferring equipment to the Ukrainian government, which is fighting the Russian invasion on its territory," said Sullivan, who visited Quito (the capital of Ecuador – ed.) on Thursday.

In January, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa said that the country agreed to transfer approximately $200 million worth of property to Washington, which he said had turned into "scrap metal" in exchange for new American weapons worth the same amount. It was about six Russian military helicopters, missile launchers and air defence systems. All this was done in the 1990s.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned the plans and said that if implemented, they would violate the terms of the contracts (they stipulate that transfers to a third party are possible only with the written consent of the supplier).

The Russian embassy reported that Ambassador Vladimir Sprinchan had several "frank" conversations with Ecuadorian officials.

In addition, Russia, a major importer of Ecuadorian bananas, has banned their import.

In a recent interview with Ecuavisa, President Noboa insisted that "we will not break relations with Russia" and reiterated that all the equipment in question was in a state of "scrap".

"I think they have taken an inadequate position. We also have a war here," Noboa added, referring to the confrontation with drug cartels.

Background. China reportedly supported Ecuador in the banana war with Russia. Exports of Ecuadorian bananas to China are planned to increase by 1.5 times in the next five years.