(VOVworld) – Swedish prosecutors questioned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Monday at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, in a move that could end a diplomatic deadlock since Assange took up London residence in 2012.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange speaks to the media outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on August 19, 2012.(Photo: Reuters)

Swedish Chief Prosecutor Ingrid Isgren spent around four hours on the interrogation, presided over by an Ecuadorian prosecutor. Assange's Swedish lawyer, Per Samuelson, said that the questioning session could go on for days. This is the first time in 6 years that Assange, 45, has offered statement to the Swedish authorities.

In June, 2012, Assange fled to the Ecuadorian embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden on charges that he committed rape in Sweden in 2010, charges Assange has vehemently denied. He fears that, if extradited to Sweden, he could be sent on to the United States and face a life-long prison term or the death penalty for leaking US secrets.