WASHINGTON, July 24 (RIA Novosti) – The United States is inquiring with Russian authorities about the status of fugitive former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden amid a flurry of contradictory reports about his plans to leave the transit zone of the Moscow airport where he has reportedly been holed up for a month, the White House said Wednesday.
“We are seeking clarity from Russian authorities about Mr. Snowden's status,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters Wednesday aboard Air Force One.
Lawyer Anatoly Kucherena, who is helping Snowden in his bid to secure asylum in Russia, told reporters at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport on Wednesday afternoon that his application for temporary asylum remains under consideration and that the former US National Security Agency (NSA) contractor will remain in the airport’s transit zone in the meantime.
Kucherena’s statements followed Russian media reports earlier in the day citing unnamed airport sources and sources with Russian migration authorities as saying that Snowden had been issued with a document that would allow him to leave the transit zone.
Carney had no updates on how Snowden’s status might impact US President Barack Obama's plans to travel to Russia in September for the G20 meeting in St. Petersburg, except to say that Obama still intends to travel to Russia. The trip includes a scheduled summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Snowden, who is wanted by the United States for leaking classified data about the NSA’s activities, formally requested temporary asylum in Russia on July 16.
He has reportedly been living in the Sheremetyevo transit zone since arriving there on a flight from Hong Kong on June 23.
The White House has repeatedly insisted that Snowden should be returned to the United States to face espionage charges.
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