Ecuador hopes that the United States will respond to its request for fixing a date by next Monday for restarting the trade talks between the two countries, the head of the Ecuadorian negotiating team said Friday.

If there was no response by then, "we will sit down to make a realistic decision as to what is in the best interests of our country," Manuel Chiriboga said.

An early resumption of the talks, which were suspended in April, was essential because both the Untied States and Ecuador will have elections in the latter half of this year, Chiriboga said.

He said the domestic row about a contract between Ecuador and the U.S. Occidental Oil has affected the negotiations.

He added that Ecuador had passed laws which will give the state 50 percent of oil proceeds, leaving the private company with the other half of the profits.

On the bilateral trade talks, he said agriculture was the key sticking point and that the two sides had been unable to come to terms on basic foods including rice, chicken and milk.

Ecuador began trade talks with the United States alongside Colombia and Peru in May 2004, but the other two nations have already hammered out agreements with the U.S.

Source: Xinhua