Foreign Secretary meets Ecuadorian Foreign Minister
Foreign Secretary William Hague met with Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino in New York today.
The Foreign Secretary’s spokesman said:
“The Foreign Secretary, the Rt Hon William Hague MP, and Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino met in New York on 27th September.
“The Foreign Secretary said he wanted to see close and productive bilateral relations between the UK and Ecuador, including in the areas of trade and investment, higher education, and counter-narcotics cooperation.
“On the case of Mr Julian Assange, the Foreign Secretary told Minister Patino that the UK was under an obligation to extradite Mr Assange to Sweden. The concept of “diplomatic asylum”, while well-established in Latin America, did not feature in UK law.
“The Foreign Secretary described the extensive human rights safeguards in UK extradition law. He requested the Government of Ecuador to study these provisions closely in considering the way ahead.
“Both Ministers agreed that they were committed to the search for a diplomatic solution to Mr Assange’s case. They were willing to meet again at this level in due course to continue these exchanges.”