Assange's mum to meet Ecuador's top diplomat

Assange's mum to meet Ecuador's top diplomat

Ecuador's foreign minister will meet with the mother of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is holed up at the Ecuadoran Embassy in London, Quito announced Friday.

Ricardo Patino is due to meet with Christine Assange on Monday to discuss her son's application for asylum in the Latin American nation, the foreign ministry said.

Ecuador will respond to Assange's request on August 12, Patino said, after the 2012 London Olympics.

"We will take decisions that do not affect our relations with Britain," Patino said, explaining that Quito would be careful not to disrupt the Olympic Games.

Julian Assange, 41, is seeking asylum in Ecuador to avoid his extradition to Sweden, where he is accused of sexual assault.

The WikiLeaks founder fears that from Sweden, he could subsequently be re-extradited to the United States to stand trial for espionage, on account of the trove of leaked US diplomatic cables and military logs that were published on his website.

Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa has often been at odds with Washington and offered Assange asylum in 2010.

Correa vowed earlier this month that his government would not yield to pressure from Britain, Sweden or the US in deciding whether to grant asylum to Assange.

AFP/The Local (news@thelocal.se)