Ecuador’s president says that he is trying to work with Britain on providing a legal solution that would see Julian Assange leave the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.
Speaking on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, President Lenin Moreno said his country will work for the WikiLeaks founder’s safety and the preservation of his human rights.
Mr Assange has resided in the embassy for over six years. He faces an arrest warrant in the UK for not making a bail payment and fears he could be extradited to the US where high-level officials have spoken about prosecuting him for stealing classified information.
He faced sexual assault allegations in Sweden but the case was dropped.
Earlier this year, Ecuador removed extra security from its embassy after it reportedly put £3.7 million into a secret intelligence budget that protected Mr Assange, according to the Guardian.
In March, Ecuador's government cut off the WikiLeaks founder's internet connection after he wrote a post on social media decrying the arrest of a Catalan separatist politician.
Ecaudor’s government has said that Mr Assange’s activities such as publishing thousands of Hilary Clinton’s emails have compromised its relations with other countries.
Mr Moreno said: “I don’t agree with what he does. To see someone violating people’s right to communicate privately makes me feel uncomfortable.”
Mr Assange is no longer editor-in-chief of Wikileaks after a decade in the role. WikiLeaks has named one-time spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson as the new editor-in-chief.
However Mr Assange will stay on as the group’s publisher.
