Russia president accuses US of trapping Snowden

Edward Snowden applies for Russia asylum

Afp, Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday accused the United States of trapping US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden in Moscow, saying he would leave Russia as soon as possible.
“As soon as there’s the chance to move somewhere he will certainly do this,” Putin said in televised remarks.
“He arrived on our territory uninvited, he did not fly to us, he was flying in transit to other countries,” Putin said.
“But as soon as he was in the air, it became known, and our American partners essentially blocked off his further flight.”
These were Putin’s first public remarks since Snowden met with several rights activists and lawyers Friday at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport, where he is stranded.
Putin said of the United States: “They themselves scared off all the other countries, no one wants to take him, and therefore they essentially themselves trapped him on our territory.
Snowden applied yesterday for temporary asylum in Russia, ending three weeks of uncertainty after arriving from Hong Kong to escape the clutches of US justice.
Snowden, wanted by the United States for revealing sensational details of its spying operations, made the application from the transit zone of state-controlled Sheremetyevo airport after meeting rights activists and lawyers there on Friday.
“The application has been filed with the Russian authorities,” said Kremlin-friendly lawyer Anatoly Kucherena, who participated in the dramatic airport meeting and helped the fugitive negotiate the complexities of Russian legislation afterwards.
“There is no (other) way to resolve this situation,” Kucherena told AFP during an interview in Moscow.
He said that Snowden would remain at the airport while the asylum request was being processed. Only a translator had been present at their meeting on Tuesday to make the application, he added.