Ecuador's President Says Wants to Find Solution to Assange Case Without Trouble

MADRID (Sputnik) - Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno stressed the need on Saturday to find a solution to the case of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange which would protect his rights and would not create problems for Ecuador.

"It is necessary to find the way out. The solution which would protect his [Assange's] rights, first of all, the right to life, and [which would] give Ecuador the opportunity to not have what undoubtedly represents a problem for our country," Moreno said in an interview with the Spanish El Pais newspaper.

Moreno said on Friday Assange would ultimately have to leave the embassy where he has lived since June 2012. Ecuador's National Communications Ministry (SECOM) later denied that the Ecuadorian president told Assange to leave the embassy, and stressed that the issue should be resolved through the negotiations between Ecuador and the United Kingdom.

READ MORE: Ecuador 'Under Huge Pressure' by US Government Over Assange — Lawyer

Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London after being accused of sexual offenses by Swedish authorities. While the charges have since been dropped, he still fears extradition to the United States, where he is wanted for leaking Iraq War logs.