LONDON: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange acknowledged Thursday that he doesn't know whether Ecuador will approve his unusual plea for political asylum, as he spent a third night inside the country's London embassy.
Assange told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio in an interview that he had mounted his bizarre request for political asylum in Ecuador because his native Australia had made an "effective declaration of abandonment" by refusing to intervene in his planned extradition from Britain to Sweden.
"We had heard that the Ecuadoreans were sympathetic in relation to my struggles and the struggles of the organization with the United States," Assange told ABC, explaining his actions in his first public comment since launching his asylum bid.
However, Assange acknowledged there was no guarantee that his plea would be successful, and indicated he didn't know when a decision on his case would be made.
Ecuador President Rafael Correa told reporters in Quito on Thursday night that careful deliberations and consultations with other nations were involved.
"We are going to have to discuss with and seek the opinions of other countries. We don't wish to offend anyone, least of all a country we hold in such deep regard as the United Kingdom," Correa said after arriving from a climate summit in Brazil.
"Once a decision is made we can talk about safe passage and such things," he added.
British authorities say they are poised to pounce the moment Assange steps out of Ecuador's London embassy.
He would be arrested, they say, for breaching the terms of his bail, which include an overnight curfew at a registered address.
A divisive figure with a knack for garnering attention, Assange has been fighting since 2010 to avoid extradition from Britain to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over alleged sexual assaults on two women.
He denies the claims, and says the case against him is politically motivated.
Journalists and a handful of WikiLeaks supporters have been gathered outside the Edwardian building that houses the embassy in London's Knightsbridge district in anticipation of a resolution to the saga.
WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson said "it could take hours, it could take days" before a decision was made. Speaking after visiting Assange Thursday, he said Ecuador had asked for information from Britain, Sweden and the United States and would study it before making a decision.
Assange said that even if Ecuador rejected this plea, he would have helped to draw attention to what he insists are attempts in the United States to draw up charges against him for leaking hundreds of thousands of secret US documents via the secret-spilling WikiLeaks website.
"We are in a position to draw attention to what is happening. The Department of Justice in the United States has been playing a little game, and that little game is that they refuse to confirm or deny the existence of a grand jury," Assange said. "We are hoping what I am doing now will draw attention to the underlying issues."
A US soldier, Pfc. Bradley Manning, a 24-year-old Crescent, Oklahoma, native, has been charged with aiding the enemy by passing the secret files to WikiLeaks and is awaiting trial.
A Virginia grand jury is studying evidence that might link Assange to Manning, but no action has yet been taken. The grand jury has been investigating for more than year and could continue for months or even years longer. Witnesses have been called, though the identities of most are unknown.
