Russia, Ecuador praise ties but no rebel recognition

MOSCOW (AFP) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Ecuadoran counterpart Rafael Correa pledged Thursday to ramp up cooperation in energy and defense as the Kremlin seeks to revive Soviet-era ties with Latin America.

But there was no hint the leftist Ecuador leader would please Russia by recognizing two pro-Moscow Georgian rebel regions as independent.

The two leaders oversaw the signing of a series of agreements, including a deal to sell Quito two transport helicopters in a move Medvedev said was the start of defense cooperation.

“Of course, that's not a lot so far but at least that's the beginning of our cooperation in this sphere,” Medvedev said after the talks at the Kremlin.

Correa, who was also set to meet Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, is on a first official visit to Russia by an Ecuadoran leader.

A report in Kommersant daily said Thursday Moscow had hoped that Correa would recognize Georgia's rebel regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent.

Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez recognized the two rebel regions as independent on an arms-shopping visit last month.

The Kremlin has denied a link between Venezuela's recognition of the rebel Georgian regions and the arms and loan agreements.

During the joint address to the media at the Kremlin, Correa made no mention of the rebel regions.

“I thank the Russian people for the brotherly welcome we have received,” said Correa.

“We are grateful to our Ecuadoran partners for the understanding of some of our concerns,” Medvedev said, adding the two nations would coordinate foreign policies.

Cooperation between the two countries has largely been limited to banana and flower trade but Moscow has been keen to expand its presence in the oil-rich country.

The Kremlin said ahead of the talks that “joint projects in the sphere of oil extraction and oil processing, ore mining, power generation, agriculture and fishing” were high on the bilateral agenda.

Russian finance minister Alexei Kudrin told reporters Wednesday Ecuador had asked Moscow for a loan, without further details.

The Kommersant daily, quoting a source in the Russian finance ministry, said the cash-strapped nation sought to obtain a 200-million-dollar loan to purchase Russian-made arms.

Russia and Ecuador also signed a strategic cooperation agreement as well as agreements on nuclear power and telecommunications.

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