Amorim said the withdrawal of the Brazilian ambassador, Antonino Marques Porto, was due to the Ecuadorian government's decision to break a financing contract with Brazil's Development Bank (BNDES) for the construction of a hydroelectric plant.

The Ecuadorian government's decision is "not in harmony with the spirit of dialogue, friendship and cooperation... between Brazil and Ecuador," said Amorim amid the First International Conference on Biofuels in Sao Paulo, "We called our ambassador back...anyone who knows something about diplomacy knows what that means."

The San Francisco Hydroelectric Plant was built by the Brazilian constructing company Odebrecht, which was expelled from Ecuador last September for alleged irregularities.

The plant was expected to produce 12 percent of Ecuador's energy supply. It started operation in 2007 but had to be closed due to defects in June 2008.

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa said Thursday that he "had taken legal measures" to suspend the payment of the country's debt with BNDES, which amounts to 460 million U.S. dollars including the interests.

According to Jorge Glas, who presides over the Ecuadorian Solidarity Fund, a state-owned organization attached to the electric energy distribution sector, the Ecuadorian government has submitted suspension of payments to International Chamber of Commerce's International Court of Arbitration.