QUITO, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Ecuadorian government on Tuesday reiterated continued protection for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange after a British court ratified the validity of an arrest warrant against him.

"The government of Ecuador will maintain international protection for the citizen Julian Assange, while the threat to his life persists," said the foreign affairs ministry in a statement.

The statement added that the government "maintains the best relations with the United Kingdom and will maintain efforts to find a satisfactory solution for the two countries, respectful of human rights."

Assange, 46, has taken refuge at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since 2012 to avoid being extradited to Sweden, where he is wanted to answer charges for alleged sexual crimes in 2010, which he denies.

In May, the Swedish prosecutor-general shelved the case, giving a glimmer of hope to Assange as the sex assault claims on which the original arrest warrant was based have been dropped.

However, London police said that Assange would still be arrested if he ever left the Ecuadorian embassy, since he was the subject of a British arrest warrant for a parole violation when he fled to the embassy.

On Jan. 26, Assange's lawyers put forward an argument to a British court that as the case against him had been dropped, the arrest warrant was no longer applicable.

The arrest warrant was ruled by the court on Tuesday as still valid, dashing the asylum seeker's hope of freedom.

Earlier in January, the Ecuadorian government, in an effort to resolve the impasse, granted citizenship to Assange and asked Britain to give him diplomatic status, a request that was later denied.

According to his lawyers, Assange is living in a virtual prison and has seen his health deteriorate. He has stated that the case in Sweden is merely an excuse to deport him to the United States, where he is sought for WikiLeaks' publication of classified documents.

The WikiLeaks website gained fame after it released thousands of confidential diplomatic cables showing the U.S. manipulation of foreign governments and video footage of a U.S. military strike on civilians in Iraq, moves that angered Washington.