Ecuador is seeking a "third country or a personality" to mediate a final settlement with Britain to resolve the future of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, the foreign minister said Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa said the South American country was "considering and exploring the possibility of mediation" to end the "untenable" five-year impasse.

Assange moved into Ecuador's embassy in London five years ago to avoid arrest over now-dropped Swedish rape charges, though he remains over fears he will be extradited to the United States and put on trial for WikiLeaks publishing leaked secret US documents.

Source: AFP