• published: 25 Jun 2013
• views: 12

http://news.sky.com/story/1107743/russian-minister-says-snowden-not-on-its-soil Russian Minister Says Snowden Not On Its Soil Russia's Foreign Minister says that whistleblower Edward Snowden has not crossed into his country as China's media praises him. 10:47am UK, Tuesday 25 June 2013 Video: Whistleblower Snowden Is 'Safe' Enlarge Email Russia's foreign minster has said that whistleblower Edward Snowden has not crossed into Russian territory. Sergei Lavrov rejected US demands to extradite the National Security Agency leaker, who has apparently stopped in Moscow while trying to evade justice in America. Mr Lavrov said that accusing Russia of "violation of US laws and even some sort of conspiracy" with regard to Snowden is "absolutely ungrounded and unacceptable." His comments came after China's top state newspaper - the voice of the communist party - praised whistleblower Edward Snowden for "tearing off Washington's sanctimonious mask". The People's Daily, which reflects the official thinking of the Chinese government, criticised America for attacking Hong Kong's decision to allow the former CIA analyst to flee. Snowden is thought to be in Russia, having flown there from Hong Kong on Sunday. He was not on a flight from Moscow to Havana, Cuba, on Monday, that he was expected to take. A source told the Reuters newswire on Tuesday that he had arrived at Moscow Airport and was travelling with British WikiLeaks researcher Sarah Harrison. Snowden's route since leaving Hawaii, with his next possible destinations Snowden had left Hong Kong suddenly on Sunday, hours after the US had provided the territory with a request for extradition. Snowden was widely expected to fly from Moscow to Cuba and then on to Ecuador, possibly via Venezuela, but Ecuador's foreign minister said on Tuesday he did not know where Snowden was. It is thought he is staying airside in Moscow's airport. As he has not passed through passport control, he is considered as not having entered Russia. Reports on Monday said he was staying in a 'pod'-style hotel room in the airport's VIP area. On Monday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Hong Kong had made a "deliberate choice by the government to release a fugitive despite a valid arrest warrant, and that decision unquestionably has a negative impact on the US-China relationship". US Secretary of State John Kerry has dubbed Snowden a traitor, and warned both Russia and China that their relations with the US might be damaged by their refusal to extradite him. China's top state newspaper rejected accusations that Beijing had facilitated his departure from Hong Kong. Empty seat from Moscow-Havana plane that Edward Snowden was expected to be on The empty seat Snowden was expected to be in on a flight to Cuba The strongly worded front-page commentary in the overseas edition of The People's Daily said China could not accept "this kind of dissatisfaction and opposition". "In a sense, the United States has gone from a 'model of human rights' to 'an eavesdropper on personal privacy', the 'manipulator' of the centralised power over the international internet, and the mad 'invader' of other countries' networks," the paper said. "The world will remember Edward Snowden. It was his fearlessness that tore off Washington's sanctimonious mask." President Barack Obama said the United States is following legal channels to bring Snowden back to the US. Snowden is being assisted by WikiLeaks, and its founder Julian Assange says he has applied for asylum in Ecuador, Iceland, and possibly other countries. He added that the ex-National Security Agency contractor is "healthy and safe", but has refused to discuss his whereabouts. Flight from Moscow-Havana that Edward Snowden was not on The flight from Moscow to Cuba that Snowden was not on Assange condemned what he called "bellicose" statements from the US. Snowden, 30, is accused of espionage by the US after disclosing information on top-secret surveillance programmes.