UK wants to resume talks with Ecuador over Assange
Tensions between the UK and Ecuador over the Assange case have eased as Britain has withdrawn a threat to raid its embassy to arrest the WikiLeaks founder, adding it wanted to resume talks over the issue.
On Saturday the Ecuadorian government revealed that it received "a communication from the British Foreign Office which said that there was no threat to enter the embassy.""We consider this unfortunate incident over, after a grave diplomatic error by the British in which they said they would enter our embassy," Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said in a weekly media address.After the address Britain stated that it remains committed to a diplomatic solution to the standoff and expressed willingness to restart talks with Ecuador."We remain committed to the process of dialogue we have entered into and we want that to resume with the government of Ecuador," a British Foreign Office spokeswoman said on Sunday.Ecuador granted Assange political asylum but the UK says it will arrest him if he leaves the embassy to deport him to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over sexual assault allegations.The case strained relations between London and Quito, which was infuriated after British authorities warned they could enter the Ecuadorian embassy to seize Assange.The announcement comes a day after all the members of the Organization of American States, except for the US and Canada, stated their support of Ecuador in relation to Assange’s saga.Senior officials from the 35-state bloc adopted a resolution of solidarity with Ecuador. They reaffirmed their “respect of sovereignty” and denounced “the use of forces in solving conflicts.”All members approved the full text of the document except for Canada and the United States, which refused to express “solidarity” with Quito.Earlier, the Ecuadorian president said in an exclusive interview with RT that “Once we granted asylum to Assange, he is under the protection of Ecuador, and we will do everything to make sure this protection is effective.”
