US President Barack Obama (R) speaks to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Los Cabos, Mexico, June 18, 2012.
An aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin says the dispute over American whistleblower Edward Snowden, who is given temporary asylum in Russia, will not damage diplomatic ties between Russia and the United States.
According to a Thursday report by RIA Novosti, Yury Ushakov said, Å“This issue is not important enough to affect political relations,” and expressed his countryâ„¢s interest in the development of relations with Washington Å“in all areas.”
Snowden, a former technical contractor for the US National Security Agency (NSA) and a former employee of the CIA who leaked US surveillance programs in June, was allowed Thursday to leave Russiaâ„¢s Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow, where he has been staying for over a month.
Å“Snowden has left Sheremetyevo Airport. He has just been given a certificate that he has been awarded temporary asylum in Russia for one year,” said Snowdenâ„¢s lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena.
Snowden, 30, has been charged in the United States with espionage and theft of government property.
He revealed that the NSA collects the telephone records of Americans from US telecommunications companies and the online communications of foreign targets from Internet companies.
Ushakov said Moscow is unaware of reported plans by US President Barack Obama to call off an upcoming visit to Russia in reaction to Snowdenâ„¢s asylum.
Å“We know about speculations over this issue in America, but we have not received any official signals from US authorities.”
The White House has signaled that Obama is likely to cancel scheduled talks with the Russian president in Moscow during a G20 summit in September.
Å“We see this (Russiaâ„¢s move) as an unfortunate development and we are extremely disappointed by it,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said, adding, Å“We are evaluating the utility of a summit, in light of this and other issues, but I have no announcement today on that.”
Washington had repeatedly called on Russia to dismiss Snowdenâ„¢s asylum request and send him back to the US.
MR/HSN
Republished from: Press TV