25-06-2013, 05:00 PM
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Last Modified: 25 Jun 2013 15:41
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[TD="class: DetailedSummary"]Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the US whistleblower Edward Snowden was still in the transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, and was free to leave and should do so as soon as possible.
Putin told a news conference during a visit to Finland on Tuesday that he hoped the affair would not affect relations with Washington, which wants Russia to send the former National Security Agency contractor to the US, but indicated Moscow would not hand him over.
"We can only hand over foreign citizens to countries with which we have an appropriate international agreement on the extradition of criminals," Putin said, adding that Snowden has committed no crime in Russia.
He dismissed US accusations against Russia over the case as "rubbish," saying that Russian security agencies had not worked with Snowden.
The news comes a day after he was reported to have left Moscow for Havana, apparently en route to Ecuador.
Ricardo Patino, the foreign minister of Ecuador, where Snowden is seeking asylum to evade being arrested by the United States for leaking classified details about its spying programme, said on Tuesday that the country knew nothing about his whereabouts or what documents he might be using to travel.
Earlier reports suggested that Snowden took a flight out of Moscow on Monday, having arrived there from Hong Kong the previous day.
The United States has annulled Snowden's passport and wants him returned to face espionage charges for revealing details of two widespread surveillance programmes. Washington has strongly criticised China for allowing Snowden to leave Hong Kong.
Chinese rebuttal
China said on Tuesday, however, that the United States' accusations of Beijing facilitating Snowden's departure from Hong Kong were "groundless and unacceptable".
Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, told a regular briefing that all parties should accept that the Hong Kong government had handled Snowden's case in accordance with the law.
The White House said Hong Kong's decision was "a deliberate choice by the government to release a fugitive despite a valid arrest warrant, and that decision unquestionably has a negative impact on the US-China relationship".
Meanwhile, Julian Assange, the founder of whistleblowing website Wikileaks, has described Snowden as "healthy and safe", but did not provide any details of his whereabouts. Assange has been granted asylum by Ecuador in a separate case, and has been living in the country's London embassy for more than a year.
Snowden has been charged by the US of espionage and spying after he revealed to Western newspapers how the United States' National Security Agency spies on the internet and phone activities of billions of people.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin says US whistleblower was still at Moscow airport, and was free to leave.
Last Modified: 25 Jun 2013 15:41
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[TD="class: DetailedSummary"]Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the US whistleblower Edward Snowden was still in the transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, and was free to leave and should do so as soon as possible.
Putin told a news conference during a visit to Finland on Tuesday that he hoped the affair would not affect relations with Washington, which wants Russia to send the former National Security Agency contractor to the US, but indicated Moscow would not hand him over.
"We can only hand over foreign citizens to countries with which we have an appropriate international agreement on the extradition of criminals," Putin said, adding that Snowden has committed no crime in Russia.
He dismissed US accusations against Russia over the case as "rubbish," saying that Russian security agencies had not worked with Snowden.
The news comes a day after he was reported to have left Moscow for Havana, apparently en route to Ecuador.
Ricardo Patino, the foreign minister of Ecuador, where Snowden is seeking asylum to evade being arrested by the United States for leaking classified details about its spying programme, said on Tuesday that the country knew nothing about his whereabouts or what documents he might be using to travel.
Earlier reports suggested that Snowden took a flight out of Moscow on Monday, having arrived there from Hong Kong the previous day.
The United States has annulled Snowden's passport and wants him returned to face espionage charges for revealing details of two widespread surveillance programmes. Washington has strongly criticised China for allowing Snowden to leave Hong Kong.
Chinese rebuttal
China said on Tuesday, however, that the United States' accusations of Beijing facilitating Snowden's departure from Hong Kong were "groundless and unacceptable".
Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, told a regular briefing that all parties should accept that the Hong Kong government had handled Snowden's case in accordance with the law.
The White House said Hong Kong's decision was "a deliberate choice by the government to release a fugitive despite a valid arrest warrant, and that decision unquestionably has a negative impact on the US-China relationship".
Meanwhile, Julian Assange, the founder of whistleblowing website Wikileaks, has described Snowden as "healthy and safe", but did not provide any details of his whereabouts. Assange has been granted asylum by Ecuador in a separate case, and has been living in the country's London embassy for more than a year.
Snowden has been charged by the US of espionage and spying after he revealed to Western newspapers how the United States' National Security Agency spies on the internet and phone activities of billions of people.
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"Let me issue and control a nation's money and I care not who writes the laws. - Mayer Rothschild
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience! People are obedient in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war, and cruelty. Our problem is that grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem!" - Howard Zinn
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will" - Frederick Douglass
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience! People are obedient in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war, and cruelty. Our problem is that grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem!" - Howard Zinn
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will" - Frederick Douglass