British daily, The Guardian reported on Tuesday that the Ecuador President Rafael Correa was set to grant asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

British daily, The Guardian reported on Tuesday that the Ecuador President Rafael Correa was set to grant asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

"We see Assange's request as a humanitarian issue," the daily quoted an unnamed official I n Quito as saying.
"It is clear that when Julian entered the embassy there was already some sort of deal," the official said.

"We see in his work a parallel with our struggle for national sovereignty and the democratization of international relations."

Assange, 41, took refuge at the London embassy on June 19 to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faces police questioning over sexual assault allegations.

Correa said on Monday he expects to respond to Assange's application for political asylum later this week.
"We expect to have a meeting no later than Wednesday," Correa said, referring to his diplomats in London.

The former hacker fears that from Sweden, he could subsequently be re-extradited to the United States to stand trial for espionage over the leaked cables.