Ecuador Hands Over Military Equipment to the United States, Moscow: Reckless Decision Under Pressure

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova. (Twitter/@mfa_russia)

JAKARTA - Russia condemned Ecuador's handover of military equipment made by Ecuador to the United States, saying it was carried out under pressure.

The Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday condemned Ecuador's decision to hand over Russian-made military hardware to the United States, for use in Ukraine, calling it a reckless breach of contract, according to RIA News Agency.

Last month, Ecuador's government said it would accept an offer from Washington to exchange what it called "Ukrainian and Russian scrap". In return, Washington will provide advanced US equipment worth 200 million US dollars.

The United States said the weapons it obtained from Ecuador would be sent to Ukraine to help strengthen Kyiv's forces on the battlefield against Russia.

Responding to this, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakahrova said Ecuador's decision was taken under pressure from external forces.

"Such a reckless decision was taken by the Ecuadorian side under serious pressure from interested external parties," he said, as reported by Reuters, February 2.

"Our partners are well aware of the terms of the contract, which includes the obligation to use the provided equipment for the stated purposes and not to transfer it to third parties, without obtaining the relevant consent from the Russian side," explained Zakharova.

Separately, authorities in Ecuador said Moscow had advised against such a hardware swap, but they believed they had the right to do so.