Snowden asylum a temptation for Ecuador

Ecuador's president and foreign minister say that national sovereignty and universal principles of human rights will govern their decision on granting asylum to Edward Snowden, powerful hints that the former US National Security Agency contractor is welcome despite potential repercussions from Washington.

Snowden's application for Ecuadoran asylum is formally under consideration.

Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino, nonetheless, made little effort to disguise his government's position. He told reporters in Hanoi that the choice Ecuador faced in hosting Snowden was "betraying the citizens of the world, or betraying certain powerful elites in a specific country".

President Rafael Correa said on Twitter that "we will take the decision that we feel most suitable, with absolute sovereignty".

Analysts said welcoming Snowden would sharply escalate Correa's policy of tweaking the United States' nose while maintaining strong economic ties that have maintained healthy growth rates and fuelled the president's wide popularity, over 60 per cent in recent polls. It would be a tempting but potentially dangerous play, they said, for a leader who appears to delight in slamming US foreign policy but depends on Washington for nearly half of Ecuador's foreign trade.

Correa has given WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange refuge from Swedish sexual assault charges in Ecuador's embassy in London for a year, garnering international headlines and suffering few consequences.