WASHINGTON, Aug 9 (RIA Novosti) - Russia acted strictly in line with Russian law and the country's international obligations in its decision to grant US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden temporary asylum, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said here Friday.
"We acted strictly according to our laws," Lavrov told reporters following talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry and the defense ministers from the two countries.
"We have to be bound by legal obligations rooted in the Russian law and our international obligations," Lavrov said.
Russia prevented Snowden from officially entering the country for five weeks during which he remained in a transit zone after arriving from Hong Kong and landing at an international airport outside the Russian capital. Moscow announced last week that Snowden had been granted asylum for one year in Russia.
The United States has strongly demanded that Russia take action to return Snowden to face justice in his country. Russia said it had no legal justification for complying with that demand but has also said it did want want the disagreement over Snowden's fate to damage its relations with Washington.
Lavrov said the Snowden dispute "did not overshadow" the meeting in Washington between the top US and Russian foreign policy and defense officials.
