Assange: interview about-face a victory

Julian Assange has told his lawyer it’s a ‘‘victory’’ that Swedish prosecutors have performed an about-face and finally agreed to interview him in London regarding allegations he sexually assaulted two women in 2010.

Prosecutors had previously refused to consider quizzing the 43-year-old inside the Ecuadorean embassy, where he’s been holed up for almost three years.

Assange’s Swedish lawyer Per Samuelson delivered the news to the WikiLeaks founder via telephone. ‘‘This is a victory for me, this is what I’ve been asking for for more than four years,’’ Assange said, according to Samuelson.

‘‘Finally it’s coming and it’s a good opportunity to give my version of what happened to the prosecutor and clear my name.’’

But Samuelson said Assange was also irritated it had taken the prosecutor so long to change her mind. ‘‘She has wasted over two years of my life,’’ he reportedly said.

Prosecutor Marianne Ny said she was now prepared for Assange to be quizzed in the embassy because the statute of limitations on some of the alleged crimes would become effective in August.