LONDON, May 19. /TASS/. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has expressed his readiness for dialogue with the UK authorities and the US Department of Justice.

While addressing the media from the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy in London, Assange said that his "legal staff have contacted the United Kingdom authorities and we hope to engage in a dialogue about what is the best way forward." "The claim by the United Kingdom they can arrest me for seeking asylum is untenable," he noted.

At the same time, Assange added that "while there have been extremely threatening remarks made, I’m always happy to engage in a dialogue with the Department of Justice about what has occurred."

The Wikileaks founder also said that although "today was an important victory", "the road is far from over," while "the proper war is just commencing."

He thanked Ecuador for standing by him "despite intense pressure" and stressed that Wikileaks would continue its publications.

Earlier on Friday, Swedish prosecutors dropped their investigation against Assange over a rage allegation.

Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in June 2012 in order to avoid extradition to Sweden as he believed that Stockholm would hand him over to Washington where he would face prosecution over WikiLeaks’ publication of the US classified military and diplomatic documents. All these years, he has been denying the rape allegation claiming it is a plot to bring him to the United States.