"When it comes to where I am, how safe I am, the ultimate decision about that has not been mine, but the State Department's," Snowden said at "Pardon Snowden" campaign luncheon in New York. "I did not pick a particular destination, I was trying to go to Lebanon."
In 2014, Russia provided Snowden a three-year residence permit after he leaked classified documents pertaining to US government’s mass surveillance programs of American citizens.
"There was a rumor that my passport was canceled before I departed Hong Kong — that's not true. [Chinese] officials can prove that," Snowden pointed out.
Earlier on Tuesday, Snowden's attorney in Russia Anatoly Kucherena urged US President Barack Obama to pardon the NSA whistleblower and prove the worth of his Nobel Peace Prize Award.
