Britain and Ecuador face a prolonged showdown over the fate of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is holed up in the South American nation's London embassy, Britain's foreign minister says.
Assange took shelter in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in June after exhausting all appeals against extradition from Britain toSweden, where he is wanted for questioning over sexual assault allegations.
Ecuador has granted him diplomatic asylum.
Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague told reporters in New York talks with Ecuador's Vice President Lenin Moreno in August over the Australian activist had yielded little progress and negotiations would continue.
"I've seen no sign of any breakthrough since our meeting," Hague said.
Patino will then speak with the WikiLeaks founder.
Assange, 41, fears Sweden will hand him over to the United States, where he could face prosecution over WikiLeaks' release of a vast cache of leaked Iraq and Afghanistan war reports and diplomatic cables.
The activist's lawyers and supporters say he would not get a fair trial in the United States.
Ecuador has reportedly made one proposal that Assange be transferred to Sweden but stay under the protection of the Ecuador government.
