Refusing to accede to the U.S. request for extradition of Edward Snowden, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said that he was in the transit zone of a Moscow airport and had not yet passed through Russian immigration, which meant technically he was not in Russia.
The president who is on a visit to Finland, told reporters that Snowden is free to travel anywhere he wants.
President Putin's comments are the first confirmation by the Russian government about Snowden's whereabouts and have finally ended all mystery about his location.
Edward has reportedly sought asylum in Ecuador as the U.S. government has charged him with espionage and theft of government property after he disclosed the National Security Agency's surveillance programs of monitoring communications and movements of people.
While hoping Snowden's case would not jeopardize the relationship between the two countries, the Russian president said there were no grounds to extradite the American whistleblower.
"As far as any sort of extradition is concerned, to wherever it may be, we are only able to hand over citizens of foreign states to those countries with whom we have a corresponding international extradition agreement. We have no such agreement with the United States," said Vladimir Putin.
Washington has expressed its outrage toward China for allowing Snowden to flee from Hong Kong and has also warned Moscow that refusing to extradite him could affect its relationship with the United States.
"Any accusation directed towards Russia is ravings and sheer nonsense. He is a transit passenger and, as such, still remains in the transit lounge," said Putin.
