"Edward Snowden out of sight as U.S. asks Russia to hand him over" by the Washigton Post is one of the many articles published on Snowden, who is sought on espionage charges after bringing secret U.S. surveillance programs to light.
Snowden "receded still further into the shadows Monday as the United States strenuously called on Russia to turn him over for prosecution", the articles reads.
Snowden, a former government contractor who has not been seen in public since he was said to have arrived in Moscow on Sunday after slipping out of Hong Kong, set off a flurry of diplomatic activity around the globe as frustrated U.S. officials tried to interrupt his flight to asylum. The 30-year-old fugitive , according to Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, who said he was advising Snowden.
“We continue to hope that the Russians will do the right thing,” the article quotes the Secretary of State John F. Kerry. “We think it’s very important in terms of our relationship." A the same time, according to the article, "Russian news agencies quoted a string of careful statements from unnamed sources, who said they were powerless to intervene because Snowden remained in a transit area of the airport and had not crossed the border into official Russian territory."
Reuters has reported that "The United States on Monday increased pressure on Russia to hand over Edward Snowden, the American charged with disclosing secret U.S. surveillance programs, and said it believed he was still in Moscow despite reports he was leaving for Cuba."
"Given our intensified cooperation working with Russia on law enforcement matters ... we hope that the Russian government will look at all available options to return Mr. Snowden back to the U.S. to face justice for the crimes with which he is charged," Reuters quotes the spokesman Patrick Ventrell.
"Washington was stung by the defiance from Russia, with which President Barack Obama has sought improved relations, and China's apparent compliance in letting Snowden leave Hong Kong. Obama has met the leaders of the two powers in recent months," the article published by Reuters concludes.
