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NSA Spy Leaks: US Denounces Snowden's Russian Asylum
BBC NEWS, EUROPE
August 1, 2013: The US has labeled Russia's decision to grant asylum to fugitive intelligence leaker Edward Snowden as "extremely disappointing". The White House is reconsidering a meeting scheduled for next month between President Barack Obama and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The US wants Mr Snowden extradited and tried for leaking secrets. Mr Snowden has at a Moscow airport transit zone since June, left the aiprot, and thanked Russia for its action.
'Stab in the back'
Mr Obama had been scheduled to meet Mr Putin on the sidelines of a G20 summit in early September in St Petersburg. However, White House spokesman Jay Carney said: "We're extremely disappointed that the Russian government would take this step despite our very clear and lawful requests in public and in private to have Mr Snowden expelled to the United States to face the charges against him. "We're evaluating the utility of a summit in light of this and other issues."
Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer, an ally of Mr Obama, said Russia's decision was a "stab in the back" and urged the president to recommend relocating the G20 summit away from Russia. Former Republican presidential candidate John McCain said there should be "serious repercussions".
Russia has consistently played down the importance of the issue and insisted relations with the US should be unaffected. The BBC's Daniel Sandford in Moscow says relations between the US and Russia were already bad and, after what appears to be a deliberate move by Mr Putin, they have now taken a definite turn for the worse.
Russia's Federal Migration Service later confirmed that Mr Snowden had been given asylum for one year. Mr Snowden's presumed final destination is Latin America, but experts were unsure whether he would be able to travel abroad with the Russian travel documents.
