WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has shown "ingratitude and disrespect" to Ecuador, which has given him refuge since 2012 in the London embassy, Ecuador's foreign ministry said, but did not mention Assange's expulsion from the embassy.
"By spreading information that falsifies the truth, he (Assange) and his associates have once again shown ingratitude and disrespect for Ecuador, instead of being grateful to the country that hosted him for almost seven years," the statement said.
The ministry was responding to a recent WikiLeaks message on Twitter that said Quito and London had agreed to have Assange removed from the embassy and handed over to British authorities.
Relations between Assange and Ecuador have deteriorated in recent months. After several published positions of Assange on international issues with which the country's authorities do not agree, Ecuador suspended some communication systems in the embassy.
President Lenin Moreno said recently that Assange had again violated the protocol on respecting the conditions of providing asylum, but he did not mention the expulsion of Assange from the embassy.
Assange, 47, has been in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden over allegations of rape and sexual abuse, which he denies.
Assange is facing arrest for violating his parole in 2012 and will be arrested as soon as he leaves the Ecuadorian embassy. In addition to Sweden, the USA is under investigation because WikiLeaks published hundreds of thousands of pages of American diplomatic correspondence and secret military documents.
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