The United States suffered a stunning setback on Thursday as Russia granted fugitive American whistleblower Edward Snowden temporary asylum for one year, rejecting Washington’s repeated requests for his extradition.
After dithering for weeks on Snowden’s application, with Russian President Vladimir Putin even saying that he would not want ties with America harmed by this issue, the Russian authorities ended the whistleblower’s predicament. The former National Security Agency contractor finally left the transit zone of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport, where he had been holed up since June 23, to an undisclosed destination, said reports from Moscow quoting his legal representative, Anatoly Kucherena.
The papers issued by the Russian Immigration Service allow Snowden to live, work and travel in Russia for a year and that approval can be renewed annually, Kucherena told RT, the Russian television network.The United States is “extremely disappointed” in Russia’s decision to grant asylum to National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, the White House said on Thursday.
In its first public response to Russia’s move in defiance of US wishes, the Obama administration said it was not a positive development for US-Russia relations and said that it undermined Russia’s record of law enforcement cooperation with the US. The White House added that it is re-evaluating whether President Barack Obama should attend an upcoming summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We are extremely disappointed that the Russian government would take this step despite our very clear and lawful requests in public and private that Mr. Snowden be expelled and returned to the United States,” said White House spokesman Jay Carney.Carney said that Moscow had given the US no advance notice before announcing its decision to grant Snowden asylum for one year.