WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange could learn as early as today whether his request for asylum in Ecuador has been approved. Assange spent a second night at the Ecuadorian embassy in London on Wednesday after seeking refuge in a last-ditch bid to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faces questioning on allegations of sexual assault. Ecuador’s deputy foreign minister has said a decision is expected within 24 hours. In an interview with the news network TeleSUR, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said Assange has every right to seek asylum in a foreign country and rejected concerns that approving his bid would harm relations with the United States.

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa: “If an asylum request affects the relationship with Great Britain, the relationship between the United States and Latin America should be very affected, because all the corrupt Ecuadorians — the bankers who bankrupted our country — asked for asylum in the United States. Journalists who defame go to the United States to ask for asylum. I think it’s established in international law, and every country has the perfect right within its sovereignty to analyze the possibility of giving asylum.”