Assange a 'Problem' That Created 'More Than a Nuisance' - Ecuador President

In an interview the president of Ecuador, Lenin Moreno, stated that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is an "inherited problem" that has created "more than a nuisance" for his government.

"We hope to have a positive result in the short term," Lenin  Moreno said in an interview with television networks.

Ecuador wanted to resolve the Assange issue, so the Australian whistleblower was "granted Ecuadorian citizenship and a diplomatic rank so that he could leave the territory of the embassy" in London, Moreno said.

"The problem persists," the Ecuadorian president said, pointing out that the country's Foreign Ministry intends to solve it "using the mediation of important people." The head of state assured that their names will soon be made public. The Ecuadorian government wants to see a "positive result" with Assange in a short time, Moreno added.

Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador officially confirmed that the authorities granted citizenship to Julian Assange.

According to El Universo, the number of his passport is listed in the relevant databases. This is confirmed on the website of the Internal Revenue Service, where the specified number corresponds to a person named Julian Paul Assange. According to the publication, citizenship was granted to him on December 21.

READ MORE: Ecuador Confirms Granting Naturalization to Wikileaks Founder Assange

Ecuador's foreign minister, Maria Fernanda Espinosa, said that she fears that third party states may threaten Julian Assange's life. She added that Assange won't leave Ecuador's Embassy in UK because there are no security guaranties.

Julian Assange lives in the embassy building since 2012. At that time, he asked the Ecuadorian authorities to grant him political asylum. Assange's main concern is that Sweden could deport him to the United States, where the Australian faces up to 35 years in prison or the death penalty for publishing classified US State Department documents.