LONDON: Ecuadorean officials said on Thursday that Britain should renounce its ‘threat’ to storm the country's London embassy, and that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange could remain inside the building for as long as he wanted — “two centuries” if necessary.

The officials said there had been no contact with the UK Foreign Office since last Thursday, when Ecuador's president Rafael Correa announced he was granting Assange asylum. Ecuador was keen to resume negotiations with the UK, the officials said, but added that the British foreign secretary, William Hague, should now take back a threat to enter the embassy as “an indication of good faith”.

Ecuadorean diplomatic sources also insisted there had been no secret deal to grant Assange asylum.

They said Assange simply turned up at the front door two months ago at midday and rang the bell. The Ecuadorean ambassador, Ana Alban, was forced to dash home to fetch a blow-up mattress for Assange to sleep on. Since he took up residence, the embassy had got a bigger fridge, the sources said.

The UK last week gave a written warning to Quito saying that it could invoke the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987 to arrest Assange inside the Knightsbridge embassy. This prompted a furious response from Quito. Hague later clarified that the FCO was not threatening to “storm an embassy”.

On Thursday, however, an Ecuadorean diplomatic source said: “The threat hasn't been withdrawn.”

The source suggested that the police presence around the building was excessive, with the embassy under siege at one point last week and still surrounded by dozens of policemen now.

“It was amazing. There used to be four or six policemen since Mr Assange got here. Suddenly there were three trucks of police surrounding us. There were police on the interior stairs. There was even one in the window of the toilet. It was clearly a message.”

Ecuadorean officials said they still believed a compromise over the Assange case was possible.

They said Sweden and the UK should give political assurances that the WikiLeaks founder, who faces allegations of sexual misconduct in Sweden, would not be re-extradited from there to the US. Failing that, they said Britain should grant him safe passage so he could fly to Ecuador.

There seems little prospect that the UK will agree to this. The Foreign Office says it is legally obliged to extradite Assange to Sweden. Both sides now appear to be settling in for the long haul.

Asked how long Assange might remain at the embassy, an Ecuadorean official said: “However long it takes. Eight years. Two centuries.”

The official said it was ridiculous to suggest diplomats would try to smuggle him out.

Yesterday the FCO said in a statement: “We have made clear we are committed to a diplomatic solution.

“We will be sending a formal communication today to the Ecuadorean embassy. We will not go into the detail of private discussions.”

By arrangement with the Guardian