JULIAN Assange continued to take refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London yesterday as UK officials tried to defuse diplomatic tensions with the South American country's government.
The WikiLeaks founder, who was granted political asylum on Thursday, has resided at the embassy for the past two months after facing extradition to Sweden on allegations of sexual assault. He denies the claims and fears being sent to the United States if he goes to Sweden.
On Thursday, the Australian described his asylum application as a significant and historic victory, but the move has attracted criticism from both British and Swedish authorities.
The UK has said it will not allow him safe passage out, with Foreign Secretary William Hague claiming diplomatic immunity should not be used to harbour alleged criminals.
Mr Hague added: "We will not allow Mr Assange safe passage out of the United Kingdom, nor is there any legal basis for us to do so."
However, Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said he hoped talks would overcome this.
Foreign Office sources said yesterday that they have spoken with the Ecuadorian embassy.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said his country would not be lectured by Ecuador and Sweden was within its rights to question Mr Assange about a crime.
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