Russian diplomats held secret talks in London last year with people close to Julian Assange to assess whether they could help him flee the UK, the Guardian has learned. Sources said the escape plot involved giving Assange diplomatic documents so that Ecuador would be able to claim he enjoyed diplomatic immunity. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ecuador’s president, Lenín Moreno, wants Assange to leave the country’s London embassy. The stumbling block was the UK’s refusal to grant Assange diplomatic protection. The Russian embassy in London tweeted on Friday that the Guardian story was “another example of disinformation and fake news from the British media”.

Source: The Guardian September 21, 2018 11:00 UTC