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June 26, 2013

Putin: Russia Won't Hand Over Snowden to U.S. 
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has ruled out handing National Security
Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden over to the United States. On
Tuesday, Putin confirmed Snowden remains in a "transit" area of a Moscow
airport, but said he is free to leave having not gone through Russian
customs. Putin said: "The sooner he chooses his final destination, the
better it would be for us and for himself." Speaking during a visit to
Saudi Arabia, Secretary of State John Kerry urged Russia to send Snowden
to U.S. custody, despite the absence of a formal extradition treaty.

Secretary of State John Kerry: "We would simply call on our friends in
Russia to respect the fact that a partner nation, a co-member of the
Permanent Five of the United Nations has made a normal request under
legal systems for law to be upheld. And we would hope that as a nation,
as a sovereign nation, Russia would not see its interests in siding with
a person who is accused of breaking the law in another nation and who is
a fugitive from justice according to international standards of law."

Snowden's final destination remains unknown though he has formally
applied for asylum in Ecuador.

 

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