Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has told the ABC he still does not know how long it will be before Ecuador decides whether to grant him asylum.

Mr Assange was speaking to Radio National's Fran Kelly this morning from the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he has been holed up since Tuesday.

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It is the first time he has spoken out since his dramatic bid to seek refuge in the South American country and avoid extradition to Sweden.

He accused the US ambassador to Australia and Prime Minister Julia Gillard of using "slimy rhetoric" in his case, and dismissed repeated Australian Government claims that he has been receiving ongoing consular assistance.

"I haven't met with anyone from the Australian High Commission since December 2010," he said, adding that his contact since then had been limited to text messages asking "Does Mr Assange have any concerns?".

He said he was seeking asylum in Ecuador because he was not prepared to go to Sweden under the terms he believed he would be held there.

"The Swedes announced publicly, that they would detain me, in prison, without charge while they continued their so-called investigation," he said.

"We had heard that the Ecuadorians were sympathetic in relation to my struggles and the struggles of the organisation with the United States, and the ability to exercise that option was at an effective end."

'Slimy rhetoric'

Mr Assange said Attorney-General Nicola Roxon had refused "reasonable requests" by his lawyer to consult or be involved in discussions on the matter, labelling it an "effective declaration of abandonment".

"There is not a single matter of concern under which the Australian Government, as represented by the Attorney-General, would ask other governments to be reasonable or just in this case," he said.

"There are serious issues here, and they are being hidden by the slimy rhetoric coming out of the US ambassador to Australia, via [Prime Minister Julia] Gillard and by the Foreign Minister - and that needs to stop," he said.

Mr Assange acknowledged that the United States had indicated that it would not extradite him, but said officials were "being very careful with their words".

"Their careful statements reflect that the [US] Department of Justice is not able to formally confirm or deny the existence of the grand jury - it's a policy with all grand juries. But there are subpoenas everywhere, there are witnesses who have come out on public record," he said.

"We have received subpoenas - the subpoenas mention my name. In the past month, two people have been detained at the US airport by US officials, interrogated by the FBI. They ask questions about me and my organisation, ask [them] to become informers.

"This is a hot, ongoing, active investigation - and as of two weeks ago. "

Yesterday, Ms Roxon said there were no indications the US government was about to take legal action against Mr Assange, but the WikiLeaks founder disputes that.

"They are taking legal action, the evidence is everywhere... it's a matter of public record. We have been fighting a legal case in the legal record in relation to the Twitter subpoenas for over a year now," he said.

"So they're playing word games here. The games that they're playing is that the grand jury needs to conclude. The grand jury is a judicial device, and not seen to be part of the executive - and so they can say they are not about to indict because the grand jury has not yet concluded.

"On the conclusion of the grand jury, the Department of Justice will take the indictments of the grand jury and pursue the matter."

Ecuador ponders decision

Ecuador's president Rafael Correa says his government will take its time in deciding whether to grant asylum to the Australian anti-secrecy campaigner.

Friends say Mr Assange is working with his lawyers on what has been a complicated legal process.

Wikileaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson said reports quoting Ecuador's deputy foreign minister Marco Albuja as saying that Mr Correa would give his instructions within 24 hours were "based on a misunderstanding by Australian media".

Mr Albuja had told the ABC's AM program on Thursday morning that: "The president will give us his instructions tomorrow".

"It could take hours, it could take days. I have no idea. I assume that if asylum is not granted then he will leave the embassy and will be arrested," Mr Hrafnsson said.

"The request is being processed by the Ecuadorian authorities. They are waiting for information from the UK, the US and the Swedish authorities. He will stay until this matter is settled."

Mr Assange, 40, turned up to the embassy on Tuesday (local time) and sought asylum in a dramatic bid to avoid extradition to Sweden over allegations of sexual assault.

Three policeman stood guard outside the embassy on Thursday.

Another two plainclothes officers sat in a car that carried a small police badge in the windscreen.

Around five protesters also gathered outside the building.

Mr Correa, who was interviewed by Mr Assange for the former hacker's television show, which airs on Moscow-backed broadcaster Russia Today, indicated that the decision-making process could stretch out.

"He (Mr Assange) presented his reasons. We are going to verify them... we will take the time necessary," Mr Correa said, adding that it would be done "with absolute seriousness and absolute responsibility".

The leftist leader, who has often been at odds with Washington, said his government was studying Mr Assange's claim that he could be extradited from Sweden to the United States on political grounds and possibly sentenced to death.

"Ecuador is a country which defends the right to life. We have to see whether there is a threat to Julian Assange's life," Mr Correa said.

Anna Alban, the Ecuadorian ambassador to the UK, said in a statement on Wednesday that she had held "cordial and constructive" talks about the asylum request with Britain's Foreign Office.

Britain's Supreme Court last week threw out Assange's application to reopen his appeal against extradition to Sweden after a marathon legal battle.

He has until June 28 to lodge an appeal at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, after which the extradition process can begin.

Mr Assange was on $315,000 bail, which included the condition that he spend the night at home. He became eligible for arrest late on Tuesday as he spent his first night inside the embassy.

ABC/AFP