Snowden Asylum Request: Will The Former NSA Leaker Be Able To Stay In Russia?

Last week, according to CNN, the Russian lawyer of Edward Snowden said the former NSA contractor would be receiving a certificate from Russia's Federal Migration Service indicating that his request for temporary asylum in Russia was under consideration. That certificate would allow him to leave the transit area of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport for the first time since June 23, when he fled there from Hong Kong in hopes of hopping a flight to a country which might offer him permanent asylum. On Wednesday, Snowden's lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, said that document has been received, and if border patrol officials do not object, Snowden will leave the airport. Russian news service RIA Novost has reported that the border patrol will raise no objections.

"The American is currently getting ready to leave. He will be given new clothes," reported Interfax news agency, citing a source familiar with the case. Kucherena was seen on Wednesday at the airport carrying a large paper bag.

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With the help of his lawyer, Snowden applied for temporary asylum in Russia on July 16, but a final decision on the case isn't expected to arrive until at least three months from then. He has already been offered asylum by three Latin American countries - Venezuela, Nicaragua and Bolivia - but those acceptances have been troubled by the logistics of how he would get there from Russia. Typical flight routes would travel over several European countries which would likely deny the plane access to their airspace. Four countries earlier revoked airspace access to Bolivian President Evo Morales when it was rumored Snowden was aboard his presidential plane as he traveled home from a meeting in Russia. That diplomatic fiasco spurred Morales and two important allies to extend the offer of asylum.

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The temporary-asylum request currently being considered would mean the former NSA contractor could live in Russia and even travel abroad for a year, with the possibility of an annual renewal, according to Kucherena. But whether or not the latter will grant Snowden asylum is uncertain. Russian President Vladimir Putin has refused to extradite Snowden to the United States, as Washington and Moscow have no extradition agreement, but he has also told Snowden he will have to stop leaking US secrets if he wants to stay in Russia.

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In the meantime, Snowden is apparently betting on being awarded the temporary asylum."He's planning to arrange his life here," lawyer told RT.com. "He plans to get a job. And, I think, that all his further decisions will be made considering the situation he found himself in."