At the same time, however, Britain said that it was refused a request by Ecuador to grant Assange diplomatic status, which would have granted him special legal immunity and the right to safe passage under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
Assange in the balcony of the Ecuador Embassy in London
They insist that the only way to resolve the issue was for “Assange to leave the embassy to face justice.” The WikiLeaks founder, maintaining innocence on rape charges from Sweden, is also fearing that Swedish authorities would extradite him to the US where he is wanted for disclosing thousands of classified military and diplomatic documents. Swedish prosecutors dropped their charges against Assange last year, but British police have said they are prepared to arrest him for breaching bail conditions. The Ecuadorian foreign minister has urged now “international cooperation” to end a standoff in the case of Julian Assange. The country is searching for a “third country or a personality” to mediate a solution. “No solution will be achieved without international cooperation and the cooperation of the United Kingdom, which has also shown interest in seeking a way out,” said Minister Espinosa.
