Peru’s foreign and defence ministers resigned on Wednesday in protest over the decision by the government to stall a US$3.5 billion deal for the purchase of 24 US F-16 fighter jets.

The ministers said Peru’s reputation was in jeopardy after interim president Jose Maria Balcazar said on Tuesday that he would leave it up to the winner of June’s presidential run-off to finalise the agreement.

Foreign Minister Hugo de Zela told RPP radio he stood down “because the political decision made by Mr Balcazar endangers our country and undermines its credibility”.

The minister claimed the contracts for the F-16s had already been signed and said putting them on hold now turned Peru into “a country that cannot be trusted in a negotiation process”.

Defence Minister Carlos Diaz gave similar reasons for his resignation and said the purchase of jets was not political but “for the security and defence of the nation”.

The US ambassador to Peru, Bernardo Navarro, last week issued a warning widely believed to relate to the deal.