Russia still defiant as US raises pressure to send Snowden back
25 Jun 2013 5:03 AM IST
Washington pressed Moscow on Monday to do all in its power to expel former US spy agency contractor Edward Snowden before he gets the chance to take an expected flight to Cuba to evade prosecution in the United States for espionage.
Snowden, whose exposure of secret US government surveillance raised questions about Washington’s intrusion into private lives, was allowed to leave Hong Kong on Sunday after Washington had asked the Chinese territory to arrest him. His decision to fly to Russia, which like China challenges US dominance of global diplomacy, is another embarrassment to President Barack Obama who has tried to ‘reset’ ties with Moscow and build a partnership with Beijing.
The White House said it expected the Russian government to sendSnowden back to the United States and lodged ‘strong objections’ to Hong Kong and China for letting him go.
‘We expect the Russian government to look at all options available to expel Snowden back to the US to face justice for the crimes with which he is charged,’ said Caitlin Hayden, spokeswoman for the National Security Council.
The Kremlin and the Russian government did not immediately comment. But Russian officials were defiant, saying Moscow had no obligation to cooperate with Washington after it passed the so-called Magnitsky law, which can impose a visa ban and asset freeze on Russian officials accused of human rights violations.
‘Ties are in a rather complicated phase and when ties are in such a phase, when one country undertakes hostile action against another, why should the United States expect restraint and understanding from Russia?’ said Alexei Pushkov, the head of the foreign affairs committee in the lower house of parliament. Pushkov does not speak for the Kremlin and is not a policy maker, but is an ally of President Vladimir Putin. The lawmaker suggested Russia could consider granting asylum for Snowden if he required it, but it looked as if he would prefer to go to ‘other countries like Venezuela or Ecuador’.
A spokesman for Putin said on Sunday the Russian leader was not aware of Snowden’s location or plans. Russian leaders have not sought to draw attention to Snowden’s arrival, and have not paraded him before cameras or trumpeted his arrival.
Ecuadorean foreign minister Ricardo Patino, on a trip to Vietnam, said Snowden had sought asylum in his country. He declined to say what the Ecuadorean government would do, but added the request would be analysed with a ‘lot of responsibility’. An aide said the minister would hold a news conference around 7.00pm local time (1200 GMT) in Hanoi. A source at Russian airline Aeroflot said Snowden was booked on a flight scheduled to depart for Havana on Monday at 2.05pm (1005 GMT). Snowden is believed to be in the transit area of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport. Cuba said it had no information on Snowden’s plans.
A state department official said Washington had told countries in the Western Hemisphere that Snowden ‘should not be allowed to proceed in any further international travel, other than is necessary to return him to the United States’.
US senator Charles Schumer said Russian President Vladimir Putin likely knew and approved of Snowden’s flight to Russia and predicted ‘serious consequences’ for a US-Russian relationship already strained over Syria and human rights.
‘Putin always seems almost eager to stick a finger in the eye of the United States — whether it is Syria, Iran and now of course with Snowden,’ Schumer, a senior Senate Democrat, told CNN’s ‘State of the Union’. He also saw ‘the hand of Beijing’ in Hong Kong’s decision to let Snowden leave.
China foreign ministry, however, expressed ‘grave concern’ over Snowden’s allegations that the United States had hacked into computers in China, saying it had taken up the issue with Washington. The statement came after Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post newspaper quoted Snowden as offering new details about US surveillance activities.
Snowden, whose exposure of secret US government surveillance raised questions about Washington’s intrusion into private lives, was allowed to leave Hong Kong on Sunday after Washington had asked the Chinese territory to arrest him. His decision to fly to Russia, which like China challenges US dominance of global diplomacy, is another embarrassment to President Barack Obama who has tried to ‘reset’ ties with Moscow and build a partnership with Beijing.
The White House said it expected the Russian government to sendSnowden back to the United States and lodged ‘strong objections’ to Hong Kong and China for letting him go.
‘We expect the Russian government to look at all options available to expel Snowden back to the US to face justice for the crimes with which he is charged,’ said Caitlin Hayden, spokeswoman for the National Security Council.
The Kremlin and the Russian government did not immediately comment. But Russian officials were defiant, saying Moscow had no obligation to cooperate with Washington after it passed the so-called Magnitsky law, which can impose a visa ban and asset freeze on Russian officials accused of human rights violations.
‘Ties are in a rather complicated phase and when ties are in such a phase, when one country undertakes hostile action against another, why should the United States expect restraint and understanding from Russia?’ said Alexei Pushkov, the head of the foreign affairs committee in the lower house of parliament. Pushkov does not speak for the Kremlin and is not a policy maker, but is an ally of President Vladimir Putin. The lawmaker suggested Russia could consider granting asylum for Snowden if he required it, but it looked as if he would prefer to go to ‘other countries like Venezuela or Ecuador’.
A spokesman for Putin said on Sunday the Russian leader was not aware of Snowden’s location or plans. Russian leaders have not sought to draw attention to Snowden’s arrival, and have not paraded him before cameras or trumpeted his arrival.
Ecuadorean foreign minister Ricardo Patino, on a trip to Vietnam, said Snowden had sought asylum in his country. He declined to say what the Ecuadorean government would do, but added the request would be analysed with a ‘lot of responsibility’. An aide said the minister would hold a news conference around 7.00pm local time (1200 GMT) in Hanoi. A source at Russian airline Aeroflot said Snowden was booked on a flight scheduled to depart for Havana on Monday at 2.05pm (1005 GMT). Snowden is believed to be in the transit area of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport. Cuba said it had no information on Snowden’s plans.
A state department official said Washington had told countries in the Western Hemisphere that Snowden ‘should not be allowed to proceed in any further international travel, other than is necessary to return him to the United States’.
US senator Charles Schumer said Russian President Vladimir Putin likely knew and approved of Snowden’s flight to Russia and predicted ‘serious consequences’ for a US-Russian relationship already strained over Syria and human rights.
‘Putin always seems almost eager to stick a finger in the eye of the United States — whether it is Syria, Iran and now of course with Snowden,’ Schumer, a senior Senate Democrat, told CNN’s ‘State of the Union’. He also saw ‘the hand of Beijing’ in Hong Kong’s decision to let Snowden leave.
China foreign ministry, however, expressed ‘grave concern’ over Snowden’s allegations that the United States had hacked into computers in China, saying it had taken up the issue with Washington. The statement came after Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post newspaper quoted Snowden as offering new details about US surveillance activities.
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