USEUROPEAFRICAASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
    Home / World

    Russia says it's in 'tough spot' over Snowden

    By Agencies in Moscow, Washington and Caracas | China Daily | Updated: 2013-06-29 07:40

     Russia says it's in 'tough spot' over Snowden

    Passengers wait to check in for Aeroflot flight SU150 from Moscow to Havana, at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow on Thursday. Journalists stayed in the transit zone of the airport as yet another Havana-bound flight left with no sign of Edward Snowden. Sergei Grits / Associated Press

    Russia on Friday accused Washington of putting it in a "tough spot" by claiming it had failed to disclose revoking the passport of fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden prior to his arrival in Moscow from Hong Kong.

    The diplomatic rhetoric around the explosive case of the 29-year-old former US National Security Agency contractor escalated when Washington blamed Hong Kong's government for letting Snowden out in the first place.

    The fate of Snowden himself remained in limbo for a sixth day on Friday as he remained holed up in the transit area of Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport without making any contact with the swarm of international reporters at the scene.

    Meanwhile, Washington appears to be trying to demote Snowden's status to that of a common fugitive unworthy of extraordinary pursuit.

    US President Barack Obama has referred to Snowden as a "29-year-old hacker" during a visit to Africa, saying on Thursday that Snowden's case was "not exceptional from a legal perspective".

    The government of Ecuador - Snowden's most likely place of exile should he avoid arrest for lifting the curtain on the scale of the US global surveillance program to the media - said that it had not yet processed Snowden's asylum application.

    But Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro - who will coincidentally be in Moscow on Monday for an energy summit - reiterated late on Thursday his offer to grant a safe haven to the US fugitive.

    However, a Russian official close to the matter on Friday told the Interfax news agency that Washington had deliberately put Moscow in a difficult position, claiming it never reported that Snowden's passport had been revoked and that he was banned from travel.

    He said Moscow might not have allowed Snowden to fly to Russia in the first place had it known about his travel problems.

    "Washington deliberately put Moscow in a tough spot by having failed to inform it of the fact that his passport was annulled in time," the source said.

    "The Russian authorities were informed of this post-factum, more than a week after Snowden was stripped of his passport. If this fact had been known in advance, then possibly Mr Snowden might not have flown to Moscow and this entire story might never have happened."

    Russia and the US do not have an extradition treaty and Moscow has thus far refused to hand over Snowden to Washington.

    This refusal - expressed personally by President Vladimir Putin earlier this week - has added to diplomatic tensions between Moscow and Washington that have existed due to the Syria crisis.

    Venezuela offers shelter

    The Russian source said Snowden will only be able to leave the Moscow airport after a country such as Ecuador or Venezuela offers him political asylum.

    "On these grounds, he will legally leave the territory of Russia, without ever having crossed its border," the official said.

    Snowden has applied for political asylum in Ecuador and was originally scheduled to travel there via Cuba on a flight that he abruptly missed on Monday.

    But Ecuador's leader Rafael Correa said on Thursday that his government had not yet considered the case.

    The Andean nation also denied claims by WikiLeaks that it had authorized a "safe pass" travel document for Snowden and said it would be unable to process his asylum bid until he enters Ecuadorian territory.

    Venezuela's Maduro - his country's relations with Washington at a low - appeared willing to step into the emerging void by offering Snowden a safe haven.

    "If that young man needs humanitarian protection and believes that he can come to Venezuela ... (then Venezuela) is prepared to protect this brave youth in a humanitarian way and so that humanity can learn the truth," Maduro said.

    AFP-AP-Reuters

    (China Daily 06/29/2013 page7)

    Today's Top News

    Editor's picks

    Most Viewed

    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
    最新版天堂中文在线| 亚洲精品成人无码中文毛片不卡 | 丰满人妻AV无码一区二区三区| 最近中文字幕完整在线看一| 久久无码国产| 少妇无码一区二区三区免费| 无码福利写真片视频在线播放| 一本色道无码道在线| 丰满岳乱妇在线观看中字无码| 亚洲av日韩av高潮潮喷无码| 久久精品一区二区三区中文字幕| 中文在线中文A| 精品无码国产污污污免费网站国产| 亚洲AV无码久久精品狠狠爱浪潮| 合区精品久久久中文字幕一区| 日韩精品无码一区二区中文字幕 | 精品国产毛片一区二区无码| 午夜不卡无码中文字幕影院| 无码毛片AAA在线| 日韩免费码中文在线观看| 今天免费中文字幕视频| 日韩欧美中文亚洲高清在线 | 最近免费中文字幕大全免费| 无码人妻精品中文字幕免费东京热 | 最近中文字幕在线中文视频| 无码任你躁久久久久久久| 国产乱子伦精品无码专区| 超清纯白嫩大学生无码网站| 色窝窝无码一区二区三区色欲| 亚洲AV无码乱码国产麻豆穿越 | av无码一区二区三区| 久久精品无码专区免费东京热| 人妻精品久久无码专区精东影业 | 18禁无遮拦无码国产在线播放| 精品少妇人妻av无码久久| AV无码久久久久不卡网站下载 | 中文字幕无码成人免费视频| 亚洲精品国产日韩无码AV永久免费网 | 中文字幕一区二区免费| 精品无码一区二区三区在线| 亚洲国产精品无码久久久秋霞2|