Ecuador refuses US plan to use 'scrap' weapons in war in Ukraine
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Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa explains why he refused to transfer old Soviet weapons to the US.
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Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa during an interview with the BBC in Guayaquil. (AFP via Getty Images)
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa rejected the US plan to use his country's outdated Russian-made military equipment to fuel the war in Ukraine on Friday.
During an interview for the Spanish-speaking CNN channel, Noboa stated that he was not aware of Washington's plans regarding the future fate of the "scrap metal", in reference to outdated Russian-made military equipment his country owned and intended to send to the US.
He further expressed his shock at the United States' announcement that these weapons would be used in the war in Ukraine, affirming that Quito does not want to get involved.
Noboa asserted that Russia's stance on the utilization of Soviet weapons to fuel and escalate the war in Ukraine was accurate, further confirming that Ecuador will abstain from engaging in the transfer of weapons to a third party that might ultimately reach Ukraine.
Elsewhere in his remarks, he noted that Russia is the third most important trading partner for his country, stressing that his government does not want to violate international treaties.
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On January 30, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa announced that his country would give the US outdated Russia-made military equipment despite Moscow’s disapproval, stressing that the equipment is not war material, but rather “scrap metal," hence, according to his statement, the latter does not violate international agreements as these agreements only apply to military hardware.
However, according to a previous statement from Naboa, the US is exchanging the "scrap" Russian and Ukranian hardware for US-made equipment worth $200 million.
In a related update, Ecuadorian officials reported that Quito reversed its decision, confirming that none of the Russian-made equipment would be sent to Ukraine.
“There is a clear guideline from the president of the Republic of Ecuador that the country will not send any war materiel to a country in an international armed conflict,” Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld said last Monday in a National Assembly hearing.
The public U-turn by Noboa’s government came after Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated that Ecuador has made a “rash decision” by caving in to US demands for its old military equipment earlier this month.
At the time, Zakharova dismissed this notion stating, “Our partners are well aware of the provisions of the contracts, including the obligation to use the supplied property for the stated purposes only and not transfer it to a third party without obtaining the appropriate agreement from the Russian side,” describing Ecuador's decision as "a rash decision… under serious pressure from outside stakeholders." She argued that the US would not have offered to replace the equipment if it was actually "scrap".
Last month, Russia’s ambassador to Ecuador, Vladimir Sprinchan, warned that Moscow would consider weapons deliveries to the US as an “unfriendly move.”
Viktor Bondarev, the first deputy chairman of the Russian Senate Defense Committee, stated that by providing the US with weapons, Ecuador would breach its neutrality in the Ukraine war.
Read next: Ecuador not to supply Ukraine with dated Russian military equipment
