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Snowden asylum in Russia must meet certain conditions
by Joseph Earnest July 1, 2013
Newscast Media MOSCOW—Russian President Vladimir Putin has said if NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden is going to have a shot of gaining asylum in Russia, he'll need to stop sharing America's secrets. Putin also ruled out Snowden's extradition. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Putin said the former contractor for the American National Security Agency (NSA) would have to stop divulging secrets about the United States if he planned to stay in Russia.
"If he wants to go somewhere and there are those who would take him, he is welcome to do that," Putin said in Moscow. "If he wants to stay here, there is one condition: he must stop his activities aimed at inflicting damage to our American partners, no matter how strange it may sound on my lips."
A foreign ministry official quoted by the AFP news agency said Snowden had applied for asylum in Russia on Sunday night. Reports from the Russian news agency Interfax echoed this claim.
Earlier on Monday, a Russian official quoted by the RIA news agency said President Barack Obama and Putin had ordered their respective security services, the FBI and the FSB, to end the standoff over Snowden. He is currently holed up in a transit area of an airport in Moscow.
Putin said on Monday that Russia would not be extraditing Snowden.
"Russia will never extradite anyone anywhere and doesn't plan to start doing so," he said. Add Comments>>
Source: Radio Deutsche Welle
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