MOSCOW, July 1 (RIA Novosti) – Fugitive US security contractor Edward Snowden, believed to be somewhere in a Moscow airport transit zone, has asked 15 countries for asylum, the LA Times reported on Monday, citing an unnamed Russian Foreign Ministry official.
The LA Times writes that, speaking on condition of anonymity, the Russian official described this move as “a desperate measure after Ecuador disavowed his political protection credentials.”
On Sunday Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa appeared to quash rumors that the country was set to welcome Snowden, calling a letter of safe passage issued by Ecuadorian officials in London a “serious error,” the Associated Press reported.
Edward Snowden reportedly worked with the US Army and the CIA before taking a position as an intelligence contractor for the US National Security Agency. He is wanted by the United States for leaking classified information, and is thought to have landed in a Russian airport a week ago.
The LA Times cites Russian Presidential Council on Human Rights member Kirill Kabanov as saying that he believes Russia to be on the list of countries to which Snowden has submitted his asylum request.
