MINSK, July 1 (RIA Novosti) - Belarusian eco-socialist political party The Greens called on the country’s President Alexander Lukashenko on Monday to grant asylum to former CIA intelligence expert Edward Snowden, who is currently believed to be hiding in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport.
The party said in a statement that granting asylum to Snowden would be “a sincere act of support for a decent and honest man and proof that Belarusian foreign policy rests on principles of ethics.”
The Greens claim that if Snowden was granted asylum in Belarus, the country would gain a specialist, “who will help to work out means of protection against penetration of foreign intelligence services into the private lives of Belarusian people.”
Belarusian Foreign Minister Andrei Savinykh said last week Snowden had not requested asylum in Belarus.
Snowden, whose US passport has been revoked, is wanted by Washington on espionage charges following his leak of details of US state surveillance programs to the media in early June.
Belarusian opposition parties have no representation in the country's parliament and have frequently been castigated by Lukashenko, who maintains a virtual monopoly on power in his country.
