Ecuadorian President confirms refusal to transfer military equipment to Ukraine

"To our surprise, the United States publicly announced that this weapon would be used in the armed conflict in Ukraine, and we do not want to be part of that," he said.

Earlier in Ecuador, outdated Soviet equipment was called "junk," so the idea arose to transfer it to the United States. However, after pressure from Russia, Ecuador denied that the equipment could be considered "junk" and stated that Moscow offered options to leave the equipment in Ecuador.

The President of Ecuador emphasized that Russia is the third-largest trading partner for his country. Noboa added that they do not want to violate international agreements.

"In this specific case, they would be right because we would become part of the scheme of transferring arms. We will not do this," he said.

Background

Previously, Ecuador wanted to transfer outdated Soviet equipment to the United States, which could then be sent to Ukraine. This concerns the Osa-AKM anti-aircraft missile system.

The United States confirmed that Washington and Ecuador were considering the possibility of transferring military equipment to Ukraine.

However, Russia threw a tantrum and unleashed a trade war with Ecuador. The media quickly dubbed it the "banana war." After this, Ecuador refused to supply military equipment that could have been provided to Ukraine.