Politics
The Ecuadorian government, which is making a deal to buy supersonic fighters, will use for training the Mirage-50 aircraft donated by Venezuela, said on Wednesday Ecuadorian Security Minister Miguel Carvajal.

"We plan to use these airplanes for training in our transition from the current status of Ecuadorian obsolete planes to what is expected, provided that some discussions for supersonic jets are materialized," he said.

Carvajal told TV channel Teleamazonas that Venezuela's Mirage-50 are old and that his country is not on an arms race, AFP quoted.

"Ecuador just needs to keep its armed forces at the minimum level. We are not going into any arms race or plan to make disproportionate investment outside our needs or capacity," he added.

Last Monday, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa reported that his government was to accept six Mirage-50 jets that Venezuela offered to donate. He denied any "military pact."