Assange Thanks Ecuador for Granting Political Asylum

Quito, Aug 16.- Wikileaks founder Julian Assange thanked the Ecuadoran government on Thursday for granting him political asylum.

"Thanks to Ecuador and you," wrote Assange in his Twitter account @JulianAssange, after learning about the decision by Ecuadoran authories.

Ecuadoran Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño on Thursday announced his government's decision to grant political asylum to the Australian citizen, who has been in the Ecuadoran Embassy in London since June 19, 2012.

In a press conference, Patiño validated his country's right to adopt that decision.

The foreign minister reiterated his governmentâ?Ös rejection of the United Kingdom's threat to attack the Ecuadoran Embassy in London.

In a response to the Ecuadoran government's decision, the United Kingdom on Thursday announced its refusal to grant a safe-conduct passage for Assange to leave the Ecudoran Embassy in London.

Patiño said that the Ecuadoran government hopes that the United Kingdom will offer guarantees of such a passage as soon as possible.

The Ecuadoran minister also stressed that he hopes that the excellent friendship that join Ecuador and the United Kingdom will remain unaltered.(Radio Cadena Agramonte)