Putin: Snowden still in Moscow airport

F ormer NSA contractor Snowden remains in the transit zone of a Moscow airport. President Putin said that Snowden never crossed the Russian border and doesn’t fall under any extradition treaty. He called accusations against Russia „nonsense and rubbish“.

„It is true that Snowden has arrived to Moscow, and it really came as a surprise for us. He arrived as a transit passenger, and didn’t need a Russian visa, or any other documents. As a transit passenger he is entitled to buy a ticket and fly to wherever he wants“, Vladimir Putin said as he spoke to journalists in Finland.

Putin: Snowden still in Moscow airport, won’t be extradited

The President also pointed out that there is no extradition treaty between Russia and the US, which makes it impossible to extradite people like Snowden. „We can only extradite any foreign citizens to such countries with which we have signed the appropriate international agreements on criminal extradition“, he explained.
Snowden „has not committed any crime“ on Russian soil, Putin added. Russian security agencies „have never worked with and are not working with“ the former NSA employee, he also stressed.
„Snowden is a free person. The sooner he chooses his final destination, the better it is for him and Russia“, Putin said.

He also expressed hope that the Snowden saga would not have any negative impact on Russian-American relations and that the US „will understand this“.

Putin also commented on the situation with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden, fearing that he would then be extradited to the US.
„Just like Snowden, he considers himself a rights advocate and fights for sharing information. Ask yourself: should or should not people like these be extradited to be later put to jail?“, the President asked.

„In any case, I would like not to deal with such issues because it is like shearing a pig: there’s lots of squealing and little fleece“, he said.

Putin: Von Snowdens Auslieferung keine Rede

Russland und die USA haben nach Worten von Präsident Wladimir Putin kein Abkommen über gegenseitige Auslieferung von Verbrechern.

„Russland kann Ausländer nur an Staaten ausliefern, mit denen entsprechende Abkommen geschlossen worden waren“, erklärte Putin heute im finnischen Naantali auf einer Pressekonferenz nach Verhandlungen mit Finnlands Staatspräsident Sauli Niinistö.
„Ich hoffe, dass dies sich nicht auf den Geschäftscharakter unserer Beziehungen zu den Vereinigten Staaten auswirkt und unsere Partner das verstehen werden“, sagte der russische Präsident.

US-Ex-Geheimdienstler Edward Snowden (30), dem die US-Justiz die Preisgabe vertraulicher Daten von US-Geheimdiensten zur Last legt, war am Sonntag von Hongkong nach Moskau geflogen. Offiziellen Angaben zufolge befindet er sich immer noch im Transitbereich des Moskauer Flughafens Scheremetjewo.
Da Snowden kein russisches Visum hat, darf er die Staatsgrenze nicht passieren. „Je schneller Snowden für sein Flugziel entscheidet, desto besser für Russland und für ihn selbst. Herr Snowden ist ein freier Mensch“, sagte Putin.

RF/RT/RIA Novosti

Schlagwörter # Capitalism, Censorship, CIA, Democracy, Demokratie, Edward Snowden, Empire, Fascism, FBI, Geheimdienste, Imperium, Internet, Julian Assange, Kapitalismus, Kommunikation, Medien/Media, NSA, Russia, Russland, Total surveillance, Totalüberwachung, USA, Wladimir Putin, Zensur