Britain and Ecuador May Discuss Assange Case LONDON - The Ecuadorean foreign minister is due to travel to London this month and has offered to meet his British counterpart to discuss the impasse over the Julian Assange case, officials from both countries said on Monday. Mr. Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, has been holed up for nearly a year in the tiny Ecuadorean Embassy here, stymieing British attempts to extradite him to Sweden. The Swedish authorities want to question Mr. Assange in connection with accusations that he sexually assaulted two women, but he has said he fears that the Swedes will in turn send him to the United States to answer questions about his role in helping disseminate classified government information via WikiLeaks. The development concerning Mr. Assange came on the same day as the court-martial of Pfc. Bradley Manning, the Army private accused of passing on sensitive diplomatic and military information, began in Maryland. Private Manning already pleaded guilty to 10 lesser counts, but he has not admitted to the more serious charges of violating the Espionage Act and aiding the enemy, which could bring a life sentence. Private Manning has said he gave the material to WikiLeaks, which then helped disseminate it. Mr. Assange has never acknowledged that Private Manning was his source. A spokesman for the Ecuadorean government said last week that the foreign minister, Ricardo Patino, planned to travel to London on June 16, three days before Mr. Assange's first anniversary in the embassy, and to meet with Mr. Assange. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador has informed U.K. authorities that Mr. Patino will be in London and has offered to meet with Foreign Secretary William Hague to discuss the case of Julian Assange," the spokesman said. A spokesman for the British Foreign Office said it was informed of Mr. Patino's trip on Friday and was "considering" his request for a meeting with Mr. Hague. "U.K. government officials have been in regular contact with representatives of the Ecuadorean government, both in London and Quito, about Mr. Assange," the Foreign Office said in a statement. We hope the visit will contribute to our joint commitment to finding a diplomatic solution to this issue. Last week, Reuters quoted Mr. Patino as saying his government was preparing a document in which it would argue that Britain is legally obliged to give Mr. Assange permission to travel to South America.