MOSCOW, June 26 (RIA Novosti) – Fugitive former CIA employee Edward Snowden, who is wanted by the United States for leaking state secrets, is not collaborating with Russia's Federal Security Service, the FSB, anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks said on its Twitter feed Wednesday.
“Mr. Snowden is not being 'debriefed' by the FSB. He is well, and WikiLeaks' Harrison is escorting him at all times,” the group tweeted, referring to Sarah Harrison, a WikiLeaks representative who accompanied Snowden on his Sunday flight from Hong Kong to Moscow.
President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Snowden was still in the transit lounge of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, but denied that Snowden was working with Russian intelligence agents. “Our special services have never worked with Snowden and are not working with him today,” Putin said during an official visit to Finland.
There has been widespread skepticism that the presence of the Snowden – a former CIA technician and contractor for the National Security Agency – at a Moscow airport would not have prompted any interest from Russian intelligence officials.
Charged with espionage and theft of government property, Snowden is the subject of a US arrest warrant. Washington has also canceled his US passport, which may prevent him from traveling internationally.
Snowden’s ultimate destination is unknown, but Ecuador – which has given refuge to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at its embassy in London – has said Snowden submitted an asylum request to that South American country.
Ecuador’s foreign minister, Ricardo Patino, said Wednesday that Quito could take more than two months to reach a decision on Snowden’s request, The Associated Press news agency reported.
