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Moscow, Quito discuss repairs to Russian military hardware in Ecuador’s arsenal — envoy

Vladimir Sprinchan added that the sides are "at the beginning of the process," pointing out the need "to discuss this at the expert level"

HAVANA, February 22. /TASS/. Russia and Ecuador are discussing the options for repairing Russian-made military hardware in the Ecuadorian armed forces’ inventory, which Quito had previously sought to transfer to Washington in exchange for new weapons, Russian Ambassador to Ecuador Vladimir Sprinchan said in an interview with the newspaper Primicias.

"I have had contacts with the [Ecuadorian] Ministry of Defense; I know that there is a positive position in negotiations on this issue (repairing Russian-made military equipment - TASS). We are at the beginning of the process, and we need <...> to discuss this at the expert level," he said.

"Russia offers the opportunity, in accordance with the contractual obligations of suppliers, to repair or put into operation military products of Russian and Soviet production, which [Ecuador] needs in the current situation to fight terrorism and organized crime," explained Sprinchan.

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa announced on January 10 that his country would hand its Russian-and Ukrainian-made military hardware over to the US in exchange for new equipment worth $200 mln. US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Kevin Sullivan, in turn, said in February that the Russian-made equipment from Ecuador would be sent to Ukraine. Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation said that the military cooperation agreement between the Russian and Ecuadorian governments does not allow for the transfer of military products to a third party without Moscow's prior written consent. On February 19, the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry said that Quito would not send weapons to Ukraine as it is a country that is actively involved in a conflict.

US Southern Command Commander Laura Richardson said in January 2023 that the armed forces of Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and six other Latin American countries have Russian-made weapons in their arsenals and the United States is working to "replace these Russian weapons with American ones if said countries agree to transfer them to Ukraine."

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