21/08/2012

Ecuadorean President Warns Embassy Entry Is 'Diplomatic Suicide'

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa has said that the UK would be commiting "diplomatic suicide" if it tried to enter his country's embassy in London.

Speaking to state television about the ongoing Julian Assange row, Mr Correa said such a move would open up the UK to having its diplomatic missions around the world entered.

Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in June and has now bee granted political asylum.

However the UK says it is obliged to extradite Mr Assange to Sweden, where he faces questioning over sex assault claims, which he denies, and he will be arrested if he leaves the embassy.

Mr Correa was asked if he thought there was now no possibility the UK authorities would enter the embassy premises to arrest Mr Assange, as they had previously indicated they might in a letter to Ecuadorean officials.

Mr Correa said: "While the United Kingdom hasn't retracted nor apologised, the danger still exists."

He said such a course of action would be "suicide for Great Britain because then people could enter their diplomatic premises all around the world and they wouldn't be able to say a thing".

(H)


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