The US administration is in talks with Australia to work out ways to take “people out of harm’s way” following the damaging WikiLeaks scandal that Washington said could endanger many lives.

US ambassador to Australia Jeffrey Bleich said he has been talking to the Julia Gillard government over the issue.

Bleich described the release of leaked diplomatic cables on the website founded by Australian Julian Assange as “reprehensible action,” according to a report in the AAP.

His comments came as global police agency Interpol issued an arrest warrants for Assange on a rape charge originating fromSweden.

Bleich said the US was “aware of documents that are purported to have come from Canberra that are purported to relate to Australia but we are not going to validate those”.

“We are talking together about ways to ensure that our partners and our sources throughout the world are not put in jeopardy or not harm as a product of them working to promote a safer world,” he said.

Bleich said the US embassy had now briefed Attorney-General Robert McClelland, Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, Defence Minister Stephen Smith and the secretary of the Defence Department. “Based on those conversation we have effectively calibrated what the risks are and tried to take people out of harm’s way,” he said.

“We have done the best we can to mitigate those risks and we hope that it will not result in harm to any people”.

The ambassador said he had not discussed the possible action that could be taken against Assange. “With respect of people who engaged in illegal action that is for the law enforcement authorities to evaluate and for them to look at what are prosecutable offences,” he said.

“I love Australia and I don’t think there is anything I have put in a cable to cause me heartburn”, the ambassador said.