LONDON — Ecuador said Thursday it’s ready to set a date for Swedish prosecutors to question Julian Assange inside its London embassy — a potential breakthrough in the years-long international impasse over the WikiLeaks founder.

Assange is wanted for questioning by Swedish police over a rape allegation stemming from his visit to the country in 2010. He has not been charged and denies the rape claim and other allegations made against him by two women. In June 2012, he sought shelter in Ecuador’s embassy in the British capital and has been holed up there ever since.

Ecuador announced last year that it had agreed to a Swedish proposal to interview Assange at the embassy, but no interview has taken place.

Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that a date for the questioning in the embassy would be set “in the coming weeks.”

Swedish Prosecution Authority spokeswoman Karin Rosander said Sweden handed over a formal request to interview Assange in January, and a reminder in June, and received Ecuador’s reply on Tuesday.

“It means that a questioning can make the case go forward,” Rosander told The Associated Press. “This is decisive to be able to take a decision whether to formally charge him or not.”