Snowden Makes No-Leak Promise in Asylum Bid
Fugitive NSA leaker Edward Snowden today applied for asylum in Russia and, as a condition, agreed to stop harming the U.S., according to a Russian lawyer who is advising him, but that doesn't necessarily mean headline-grabbing stories about the U.S. government's vast foreign and domestic spying programs will stop.
The lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, told ABC News by phone that he met Snowden inside the transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport on Tuesday to finalize the asylum application. Kucherena said Snowden called him for advice because he was unfamiliar with Russian law.
A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said the president was aware Snowden had submitted an asylum application, but "does not have any reaction," saying the decision up to Russia's Federal Migration Service.
Putin has said that Snowden can stay in Russia, but only if he stops "harming" the United States by releasing more intelligence secrets. Speaking with Russia's Interfax news agency, Kucherena said that he asked if Snowden would "abide by the conditions" imposed by Putin and said that Snowden replied, "I will fulfill his condition."
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Fugitive NSA leaker Edward Snowden today applied for asylum in Russia and, as a condition, agreed to stop harming the U.S., according to a Russian lawyer who is advising him, but that doesn't necessarily mean headline-grabbing stories about the U.S. government's vast foreign and domestic spying programs will stop.
The lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, told ABC News by phone that he met Snowden inside the transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport on Tuesday to finalize the asylum application. Kucherena said Snowden called him for advice because he was unfamiliar with Russian law.
A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said the president was aware Snowden had submitted an asylum application, but "does not have any reaction," saying the decision up to Russia's Federal Migration Service.
Putin has said that Snowden can stay in Russia, but only if he stops "harming" the United States by releasing more intelligence secrets. Speaking with Russia's Interfax news agency, Kucherena said that he asked if Snowden would "abide by the conditions" imposed by Putin and said that Snowden replied, "I will fulfill his condition."
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