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| Putin Says Snowden Must Stop Hurting U.S. to Stay in Russia | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin said on Monday that Edward J. Snowden, the former national security staffer accused of espionage, would not receive political asylum in Russia unless he stops publishing classified documents that hurt the interests of the United States. | |
| At a news conference here, Mr. Putin pushed back against efforts by the United States to persuade the Russian government to extradite Mr. Snowden. But he said Mr. Snowden was not likely to stop publishing leaks, suggesting that his chances of staying in Russia were slim. | At a news conference here, Mr. Putin pushed back against efforts by the United States to persuade the Russian government to extradite Mr. Snowden. But he said Mr. Snowden was not likely to stop publishing leaks, suggesting that his chances of staying in Russia were slim. |
| “Russia never gives up anyone to anybody and is not planning to,” Mr. Putin said. He added, “If he wants to go somewhere and they accept him, please, be my guest. If he wants to say here, there is one condition: He must cease his work aimed at inflicting damage to our American partners, as strange as it may sound from my lips.” | “Russia never gives up anyone to anybody and is not planning to,” Mr. Putin said. He added, “If he wants to go somewhere and they accept him, please, be my guest. If he wants to say here, there is one condition: He must cease his work aimed at inflicting damage to our American partners, as strange as it may sound from my lips.” |
| Mr. Putin’s remarks came eight days after Mr. Snowden arrived on an Aeroflot flight from Hong Kong, apparently intending to board a connecting flight headed for Latin America. After that, it seemed that Mr. Snowden and Sarah Harrison, a WikiLeaks activist who is traveling with him, got caught in a geopolitical limbo, since Mr. Snowden’s American passport has been revoked and he has been unable to leave the transit zone. | Mr. Putin’s remarks came eight days after Mr. Snowden arrived on an Aeroflot flight from Hong Kong, apparently intending to board a connecting flight headed for Latin America. After that, it seemed that Mr. Snowden and Sarah Harrison, a WikiLeaks activist who is traveling with him, got caught in a geopolitical limbo, since Mr. Snowden’s American passport has been revoked and he has been unable to leave the transit zone. |
| With Ecuador, his original destination, evidently wavering, Mr. Snowden’s options seem to have narrowed, and his stopover at Sheremetyevo Airport here now threatens to stretch into weeks. Mr. Putin referred to this uncertainty on Monday, noting that Mr. Snowden apparently intends to keep publishing classified documents that damage the United States. | With Ecuador, his original destination, evidently wavering, Mr. Snowden’s options seem to have narrowed, and his stopover at Sheremetyevo Airport here now threatens to stretch into weeks. Mr. Putin referred to this uncertainty on Monday, noting that Mr. Snowden apparently intends to keep publishing classified documents that damage the United States. |
| “Because he sees himself as a human rights activist and a freedom fighter for people’s rights, apparently he is not intending to cease this work,” he said. “So he must choose for himself a country to go to, and where to move. When that will happen, I unfortunately don’t know.” | “Because he sees himself as a human rights activist and a freedom fighter for people’s rights, apparently he is not intending to cease this work,” he said. “So he must choose for himself a country to go to, and where to move. When that will happen, I unfortunately don’t know.” |
| Mr. Snowden has applied for political asylum in Russia, a Russian immigration official said on Monday. According to the official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case, Ms. Harrison hand-delivered Ms. Snowden’s application to a Russian consulate in Terminal F of the airport late Sunday evening. | Mr. Snowden has applied for political asylum in Russia, a Russian immigration official said on Monday. According to the official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case, Ms. Harrison hand-delivered Ms. Snowden’s application to a Russian consulate in Terminal F of the airport late Sunday evening. |
| A Foreign Ministry official told The Los Angeles Times on Monday that Mr. Snowden had applied to 15 different countries for political asylum, giving them the appeals at a Monday morning meeting. The official characterized the applications as “a desperate measure” on Mr. Snowden’s part, after Ecuadorean officials said that the Ecuadorean travel document he is using was invalid. | A Foreign Ministry official told The Los Angeles Times on Monday that Mr. Snowden had applied to 15 different countries for political asylum, giving them the appeals at a Monday morning meeting. The official characterized the applications as “a desperate measure” on Mr. Snowden’s part, after Ecuadorean officials said that the Ecuadorean travel document he is using was invalid. |
| The official said that Mr. Snowden’s application for political asylum in Russia had not received a response from Russian officials in the Foreign Ministry as of Monday evening. | The official said that Mr. Snowden’s application for political asylum in Russia had not received a response from Russian officials in the Foreign Ministry as of Monday evening. |
| It usually takes a month for an application for political asylum to receive an answer from the Russian government, said Vladimir P. Lukin, Russia’s human rights commissioner, in an interview. | It usually takes a month for an application for political asylum to receive an answer from the Russian government, said Vladimir P. Lukin, Russia’s human rights commissioner, in an interview. |
| In mid-June, shortly after Mr. Snowden’s identity as the source of disclosures about the government’s widespread collection of private Internet and telephone data, Mr. Putin’s press secretary, Dmitri S. Peskov, signaled openness to granting him political asylum, telling a reporter from Kommersant that “if we receive such a request, it will be considered.” | In mid-June, shortly after Mr. Snowden’s identity as the source of disclosures about the government’s widespread collection of private Internet and telephone data, Mr. Putin’s press secretary, Dmitri S. Peskov, signaled openness to granting him political asylum, telling a reporter from Kommersant that “if we receive such a request, it will be considered.” |
| But over the week that Mr. Snowden has spent at Sheremetyevo airport, top Russian officials have tried to remain neutral on whether Mr. Snowden should be granted asylum, perhaps because they are wary of the damage it would do to their relationship with the United States.Top officials have said the case does not directly involve them, since Mr. Snowden has not passed through immigration control and remains in a part of the airport that is technically not Russian territory. | But over the week that Mr. Snowden has spent at Sheremetyevo airport, top Russian officials have tried to remain neutral on whether Mr. Snowden should be granted asylum, perhaps because they are wary of the damage it would do to their relationship with the United States.Top officials have said the case does not directly involve them, since Mr. Snowden has not passed through immigration control and remains in a part of the airport that is technically not Russian territory. |
| In a radio interview on Sunday, Mr. Peskov said Mr. Snowden’s fate was “not a theme on the Kremlin’s agenda.” | In a radio interview on Sunday, Mr. Peskov said Mr. Snowden’s fate was “not a theme on the Kremlin’s agenda.” |
| A series of public figures in Russia have come out in recent days in favor of extending Mr. Snowden political asylum, and on Monday, the question was the subject of a round table at the Public Chamber, a Kremlin advisory body. | A series of public figures in Russia have come out in recent days in favor of extending Mr. Snowden political asylum, and on Monday, the question was the subject of a round table at the Public Chamber, a Kremlin advisory body. |
| “I believe that we should not give him away in any case,” said Aleksandr Sidyakin, a prominent member of the majority United Russia Party. “It seems to me that Snowden is the greatest pacifist. This person has done no less to win the Nobel Peace Prize than Barack Obama.” | “I believe that we should not give him away in any case,” said Aleksandr Sidyakin, a prominent member of the majority United Russia Party. “It seems to me that Snowden is the greatest pacifist. This person has done no less to win the Nobel Peace Prize than Barack Obama.” |
Ellen Barry contributed reporting | Ellen Barry contributed reporting |