QUITO, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa on Saturday spoke to Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva over the phone to express his disappointment at the latter's decision to recall the Brazilian ambassador.

    Correa said he was "very hurt" by Lula's decision. The recall marks the escalation of a diplomatic dispute between the two Latin American nations over Ecuador's move to suspend payments on a 320-million-U.S. dollar Brazilian loan.

    Ecuador filed an international lawsuit Thursday to suspend payments on the loan from Brazil's national development bank, BNDES. It alleged that the bank gave the money to the Brazilian firm Odebrecht to help Ecuador build a hydroelectric dam which malfunctioned one year after delivery.

    The Brazilian government has expressed great concern on the issue and said further economic cooperation will be affected.