Julian Assange made his first public appearance in two months on Sunday amid stalemate over his fate.
The WikiLeaks founder is staying in Ecuador's embassy in London where he has been holed up for two months.
Assange, 41, is said to be living in a small room within the embassy, which is situated in London's plush Knightsbridge district and round the corner from the luxury Harrods department store.
Reading from a statement, Assange said he is thankful to the people and President of Ecuador for granting him asylum.
With police primed to detain him Sunday, Assange was forced to speak from a balcony so that he doesn't set foot outside the embassy.
Assange's mother on Sunday expressed confidence that her son would make it to Ecuador to continue his whistleblowing work.
"He's had billions of people around the world supporting him, the US and their allies are almost alone on this one and the support grows day by day," she said in an interview with Australia's ABC 24.
"It could be that the UK government decides to backtrack from this position of being the US lap dog and stands up for its own sovereignty as well as the sovereignty of Ecuador."
