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| Edward Snowden asks Vladimir Putin about Russian spying on its citizens | Edward Snowden asks Vladimir Putin about Russian spying on its citizens |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| MOSCOW — Who should turn up in the middle of Vladimir Putin’s annual call-in meeting with the nation Thursday but Edward Snowden, the fugitive former U.S. intelligence contractor now hiding in Russia? Appearing on a video link, he tossed the Russian president a fat question and was answered as a comrade in arms. | MOSCOW — Who should turn up in the middle of Vladimir Putin’s annual call-in meeting with the nation Thursday but Edward Snowden, the fugitive former U.S. intelligence contractor now hiding in Russia? Appearing on a video link, he tossed the Russian president a fat question and was answered as a comrade in arms. |
| “Mr. Snowden you are a former agent, a spy,” Putin greeted him. “I used to work for an intelligence service. We can talk one professional language.” | “Mr. Snowden you are a former agent, a spy,” Putin greeted him. “I used to work for an intelligence service. We can talk one professional language.” |
| Snowden posed his question in English, which caused some consternation. Putin joked that he didn’t understand American English and waited for a moderator to translate. Finally, it came: | Snowden posed his question in English, which caused some consternation. Putin joked that he didn’t understand American English and waited for a moderator to translate. Finally, it came: |
| Does Russia spy on its own citizens the way the United States has done? asked Snowden, who revealed an array of secret National Security Agency surveillance programs. | Does Russia spy on its own citizens the way the United States has done? asked Snowden, who revealed an array of secret National Security Agency surveillance programs. |
| Oh no, Putin said, Russian eavesdropping is strictly controlled by the law. “You have to get court permission to stalk a particular person,” he said. | Oh no, Putin said, Russian eavesdropping is strictly controlled by the law. “You have to get court permission to stalk a particular person,” he said. |
| “Certainly, we do not take liberty of such a vast scale, an uncontrolled scale. Hopefully, we will never take this liberty. Besides, we do not have the hardware and money the United States has,” he said. | “Certainly, we do not take liberty of such a vast scale, an uncontrolled scale. Hopefully, we will never take this liberty. Besides, we do not have the hardware and money the United States has,” he said. |
| “Thank God, our special services are strictly controlled by the state and society and their activity is regulated by law,” Putin said. | “Thank God, our special services are strictly controlled by the state and society and their activity is regulated by law,” Putin said. |
| Russians who have had what they thought were private conversations leaked by what was presumed to be Russian security services might have been surprised by the response. | Russians who have had what they thought were private conversations leaked by what was presumed to be Russian security services might have been surprised by the response. |
| What Snowden thought remained unknown. He has been holed up in an undisclosed location, presumably in Moscow, since Putin granted him asylum last year. And his face was long gone from the television screen by the time Putin answered his question. | What Snowden thought remained unknown. He has been holed up in an undisclosed location, presumably in Moscow, since Putin granted him asylum last year. And his face was long gone from the television screen by the time Putin answered his question. |
| The U.S. Embassy in Moscow, however, offered Snowden its own answer to his question. In a tweet in Russian, the embassy said: “Snowden would probably be interested to know that Russian laws allow the control, storage and study of all data in the communication networks of the Russian Federation.” |