Pool photo by Alexei Nikolsky
Yesterday Russian President Vladimir Putin said he wanted Edward Snowden to leave, but that didn’t stop the former National Security Agency contractor from applying for temporary asylum. The Russian Migration Service has confirmed that it received his application but that it could take up to three months to review. Snowden has been trapped in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport because the U.S. has prevented him from leaving for Latin America, where three countries have offered him asylum. Russia had declined the White House’s request to extradite Snowden, since the U.S. would most likely not send back a Russian asylum seeker. Putin has also said that Snowden could stay only if he ceased all political activities, something Putin said that Snowden had refused. A Kremlin spokesperson said Putin is aware of Snowden’s application but that the Russian president won’t have any influence over it.