A day after NSA whistle-blower, Edward Snowden, landing in Moscow after fleeing Hong Kong where he had been hiding as the controversy started, the U.S. and Russia are grappling with demands and allegations as the two tensely attempt to stay on peaceful terms. Russian president Vladimir Putin said that Snowden, who leaked secret documents regarding U.S. government surveillance to British newspaper The Guardian and U.S. newspaper The Washington Post, is in a transit area in Sheremetyevo International Airport between arrival gates and Russian passport control checkpoints, CNN reported.
"The sooner he selects his final destination point, the better both for us and for himself," Putin said.
Snowden, who is wanted for espionage after revealing the classified information, is not only in a political gray area, but as Russia and the U.S. have no extradition agreement, he cannot be turned over and furthermore has not committed any crimes on Russian soil, making the extradition efforts all the more difficult. The U.S. has since alleged that the Chinese government mismanaged the situation, accusing it of deliberately allowing Snowden to escape the country. Officials with the Chinese government have since slammed the U.S. for such claims, calling them "unreasonable."
"The accusation that the U.S. side made against the Central Government of China fell short of proof. The Chinese side will absolutely not accept it," spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.
Russia has defended itself by stating that it is not working with Snowden and hopes that the U.S. and Russia can maintain a "cordial" relationship. U.S. officials, however, believe otherwise and have said that Russia does not have an excuse for not complying with U.S. requests.
"[Russia has a] clear legal basis to expel Mr. Snowden, based on the status of his travel documents and the pending charges against him," National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said.
Snowden is currently eyeing a plethora of countries in order to avoid extradition. His primary choice appears to be Ecuador, which has notably given WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange freedom if he is able to escape the country's embassy in London. It is also said that he may consider going to Iceland. He has since be criticized for looking into countries that have serious, well-known press freedom violations. Glenn Greenwald, a columnist for the Guardian and the reporter who chiefly reported on the information given to the publication by Snowden, defended his actions and noted that he was not seeking "political nirvana" so much as he was seeking to be free and available to comment on the events.
"He's searching for a place where he can be safe and remain free and participate in the debate, and Ecuador seems to be the place he has chosen," Greenwald told reporters.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is struggling to maintain positive ties with other nations while juggling with the embarrassment dealt to the government in light of recent happenings. Political analyst Jeffery Toobin said that the issue was much more than a legal one, but a political and diplomatic one. Other analysts have said that refusal to turn over Snowden probably stems from a desire to make a statement against the U.S.
"In an ordinary case, sure, you need a passport to get around," Toobin said. "But here, where this case is causing increasing embarrassment for the United States, governments that want the United States to be embarrassed are only too happy to waive some of the technical legal rules."
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