Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (Photo: TASS)
The Russian Foreign Ministry on February 2 criticized Ecuador's decision to hand over Russian-made military equipment to the United States for Washington to transfer to Ukraine. Russia said this was a "reckless" violation of military sales contracts.
The Ecuadorian government said last month it would accept an offer from Washington to exchange what it called “scrap metal produced in Ukraine and Russia” for $200 million worth of advanced US equipment.
The US said the weapons it received from Ecuador will be sent to Ukraine for use against Russia’s nearly two-year-long special military campaign. It is not yet clear what weapons Ecuador will send to Ukraine via the US.
Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, told RIA news agency that Ecuador's decision was made under pressure from outside forces.
"Our partners clearly understand the terms of the contract, which include the obligation to use the provided equipment for the stated purposes and not transfer the equipment to third parties without the relevant consent of the Russian side," she stressed.
Authorities in Ecuador said Moscow had advised them not to ship the weapons to the United States. However, Ecuador believes it has the right to do so.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on January 30 accused Western powers of asking several countries to secretly provide Russian-made weapons to Ukraine.
He did not name any specific countries, but said he would continue to insist that all international obligations regarding arms transfers be complied with.
Mr Lavrov pointed out that when a foreign country legally purchases Russian weapons, the shipments come with certain documents, including end-user certificates.
“Under this certificate, the recipient of the weapon has no right to resell or transfer it anywhere without the consent of the supplying country,” he explained.
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