Edward Snowden renews Russia asylum bid in attempt to leave Moscow airport
The US whistleblower Edward Snowden said he has renewed his request to seek political asylum in Russia on Friday, in a meeting with human rights activists at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport that marked his first appearance since he fled Hong Kong.
Snowden said he intended to stay in Russia until he could win safe passage to Latin America, according to Tanya Lokshina of Human Rights Watch, who was at the meeting.
It was unclear how the Russian government would respond to Snowden's renewed request. Vyacheslav Nikonov, a pro-Kremlin lawmaker who attended the meeting, said: "Snowden is serious about obtaining political asylum in the Russian Federation."
President Vladimir Putin's spokesman repeated earlier conditions that Snowden should stop harming the interests of the United States if he wants asylum. "We need to check this information, but as far as we know, he considers himself a defender of human rights and a campaigner for democratic ideals," spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters.
Nikonov said that this message had got through. "He said it would be easy for him to fulfill this requirement," Nikonov told reporters. He added that Snowden did not consider his actions to be harmful to the US.
So, the drama continues. All those people who made bets that he was no longer in Russia have to pay up. It would appear that he has decided not to tackle the thorny problem of trying to get to Latin America where offers of asylum are waiting without getting intercepted by the US government or one of its vassal states.
I suspect that Mr. Putin is presently wearing one of his best cat ate the canary smiles.