The plane carrying Bolivian President Evo Morales from Moscow had to be diverted to Vienna, Austria, after France and Portugal reportedly refused to allow the jet to fly across their air space amid suspicions that the American fugitive Edward Snowden was aboard.
In a televised announcement, Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca Tuesday publicly denied the presence of Snowden on its president's jet, according to the Associated Press.
"We don't know who invented this lie. We want to denounce to the international community this injustice with the plane of President Evo Morales," said David Choquehuanca in the televised announcement.
The Bolivian president was flying back from Moscow after meeting with President Vladimir Putin and attending a summit there. The two leaders discussed about the American whistleblower Snowden who is holed up in the transit zone of an international airport hotel in Moscow.
The former CIA analyst, who leaked the U.S. National Security Agency's surveillance programs of monitoring movements and communications of the people, initially flew to Hong Kong and then to Moscow after Washington issued an arrest warrant on charges of espionage and theft of government property.
Edward is awaiting a response to his asylum requests from around 20 countries. However, it seems his asylum chances are dwindling with warnings and pressures from the Obama administration to all possible countries that sheltering the U.S. wanted man could jeopardize relationship with the Washington government.
After Ecuador revealed that the U.S. Vice President was pressurizing them not to consider Snowden's request, Russian President Putin recently said his government will grant asylum only if Snowden stops further revelations. Snowden is very unlikely to concede this stipulation.
Norway and India have turned down his asylum request.
Reports speculate that Snowden's best asylum chance might be Venezuela as its president on Tuesday told reporters in Russia that the Venezuelan government would consider his request if he approaches them.
"He did not kill anyone and did not plant a bomb," said the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ahead of a scheduled meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
"What he did was tell a great truth in an effort to prevent wars. He deserves protection under international and humanitarian law," said Maduro.
