Banana and flower boycott: pressure from Moscow – Ecuador does not supply Soviet weapons to Kiev

Ignore the banana and flower
Pressure from Moscow – Ecuador does not supply Soviet weapons to Kiev

February 20, 2024, 8:29 am

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Ecuador backs off: After a dispute with Moscow, the country has stopped sending weapons to Ukraine. Ultimately, it wants to continue selling bananas and flowers to Russia. Meanwhile, it complains about the policy of “blackmail” – and by this it seems the West.

Ecuador does not want to supply Ukraine with Soviet-era weapons. “Ecuador will not send military supplies to a country in an international armed conflict,” Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld told parliament. A few days ago, Russia lifted an import ban on Ecuadorian bananas that had been imposed following an arms export announcement.

In January, President Daniel Noboa announced an agreement with the United States that stipulated that Ecuador exchange Soviet-made military equipment for new weapons from the United States used in the South American country's fight against drug cartels. According to media reports, the project included six military helicopters and several rocket launchers and air defense systems that were to be transported to Ukraine via the United States.

Ecuador has drawn Moscow's ire over a planned arms deal. Russia banned imports of bananas from five Ecuadorian exporters. Imports of flowers from Ecuador are restricted. However, Russia retracted the decision on Friday. Russia is the second largest importer of Ecuadorian bananas after the European Union.

Lavrov blames the West

Despite his own pressure on Ecuador, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov complained about the “hegemony” of the United States and other Western countries during a trip to Latin America. Washington and its allies strive to protect “their hegemony and their mandates” and use “blackmail, ultimatums and threats” against countries such as Russia and Cuba, Lavrov said in a meeting with his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez in Havana.

“Cuba knows firsthand what illegal pressure is,” Lavrov explained, referring to the US embargo. After the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine began nearly two years ago, the United States and many Western countries tightened economic sanctions against Russia.

Lavrov also met with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel. Díaz-Canel said the dialogue focused on expanding bilateral ties and international affairs. Lavrov is expected in Venezuela this Tuesday, after which he will travel to Brazil for a meeting of G20 foreign ministers.

Cuba has been subject to a comprehensive US embargo since 1962. It was imposed three years after the Cuban Revolution. The Caribbean nation is currently suffering its worst economic crisis since aid to Cuba from the former Soviet Union was cut off in the early 1990s. Russia has strengthened its ties with the communist government in Cuba since 2022, seeking new trade partners. In November 2022, Diaz-Canel traveled to Moscow to meet with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. In April 2023, the Cuban president assured Moscow of “unconditional support for Cuba in its war with the West.” Cuba did not criticize the Russian attack on Ukraine.