Ecuador is talking with Great Britain about the fate of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who took refuge in the country's embassy in London in 2012 and is still there, Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno said.
"The issue of Assange is being discussed with the British government and I know that we have already established contact with Assange's lawyers to find a way out," Moreno said in an interview with the Spanish daily Pais published today.
Moreno visited Spain and Great Britain last week.
He said that a way out should be found for Assange, a way out that would protect his rights, and above all his right to life, and which would at the same time give Ecuador the opportunity to no longer have "something that is undoubtedly a problem" for that country.
Moreno believes that the "ideal" solution would be for Assange to accept some "punishment" for violating British parole regulations and then be extradited to a country where he is not in danger.
Julian Assange, a 47-year-old Australian, took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden, where the courts have wanted him since 2010 on charges of alleged rape and sexual assault, which he has denied.
Proceedings against him in Sweden were dropped in May 2017, but in mid-February the British reiterated their refusal to withdraw a warrant for his arrest issued for failing to comply with the terms of his parole in 2012.
Assange fears that if he leaves the embassy, he may be arrested and then extradited to the US to stand trial for the publication of numerous US military secrets and diplomatic documents via WikiLeaks in 2010.
In December, Ecuador granted the WikiLeaks founder Ecuadorian citizenship, but London refuses to recognize his diplomatic status, which would have allowed him to leave the embassy without being arrested by British police.
In recent months, relations between Ecuador and Julian Assange have deteriorated. They are unhappy about some of Assange's positions, especially his support for separatists in Catalonia. Ecuador shut down its communications system with the outside world in March, then announced in May that additional security measures at the country's embassy in London were being lifted.
President Lenin Moreno, who succeeded leftist Rafael Correa in May 2017, nevertheless repeated his pledge in February to continue protecting Assange.
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