Ecuador grants citizenship to Assange, seeks end to embassy stay

QUITO/LONDON - Ecuador has granted citizenship to Julian Assange as part of its efforts to allow the Wiki-Leaks founder to leave the country's embassy in London, where he has been holed up for more than five years.

Ecuador made the move hours after the British government refused a request from the South American nation for Assange to be given diplomatic status, which could give him immunity from arrest should he try to leave the embassy.

After a year in which Ecuador's president has spoken out against Assange, Ecuador's Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa said she hoped to find a solution to his dilemma.