Ecuador said it would resume talks with Britain this week over the fate of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

Ecuador said it would resume talks with Britain this week over the fate of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

State media late Tuesday quoted Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino as saying that talks with London "will resume this week," after Britain had earlier said it hoped to restart negotiations as soon as possible.

State media late Tuesday quoted Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino as saying that talks with London "will resume this week," after Britain had earlier said it hoped to restart negotiations as soon as possible.

Assange took shelter in the Ecuadorian embassy in London embassy in June after exhausting legal appeals against extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning on sexual assault allegations but which he fears will hand him over to the United States.

The WikiLeaks founder has said he could face prosecution in the United States and even the death penalty for treason over his website's release of a trove of secret embassy cables and war reports from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Last month Ecuador granted asylum to Assange, but Britain has vowed to arrest him if he leaves the embassy.
Ecuador's President Rafael Correa has said he might be willing to hand Assange over to British authorities in exchange for guarantees he will not be sent to a third country or face the death penalty anywhere.