WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says he will be leaving the Ecuadorian Embassy in London soon, where he has taken refuge for two years.
"As you can imagine, being detained in various ways in this country without charge for four years, and in this embassy for two years which has no outside area, and therefore no sunlight, as a result of the obstruction that is presently in place by the UK at an admitted cost, policing cost of more than 6.5 million pounds - in fact the latest estimate is 7 million pounds - it is an environment in which any healthy person would find themselves soon enough in difficulties."
The 43-year-old Australian had been granted political asylum by Ecuador.
But he is unable to leave the embassy due to an arrest warrant issued by a Swedish court for his alleged role in two sexual assault cases.
Assange has dismissed the charges as "politically motivated."
Meantime, Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino says Ecuador will negotiate a "friendly and diplomatic solution" with the British government.
Assange has infuriated several governments, including U.S. authorities, by disclosing hundreds of thousands of secret files concerning Iraq, Afghanistan, and diplomatic cables from U.S. embassies around the world.
