Snowden Not Debriefed, Russia Says; As Ecuador Demands US Position In Writing

Following Putin's colorful description of the no-man's-land that Edward Snowden seems to reside in, Wikileaks has confirmed this morning that "Mr. Snowden is not being 'debriefed' by the FSB. He is well." As Rianovosti notes, there has been widespread skepticism that the presence of the Snowden at a Moscow airport would not have prompted any interest from Russian intelligence officials. Snowden’s ultimate destination is unknown, but Ecuador – which has given refuge to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at its embassy in London – has now demanded that, as The South China Morning Post reports, the US must “submit its position” regarding Snowden to the Ecuadorian government in writing as it considers his request for asylum. Ecuador's foreign minister added, "his government could take months to decide whether to grant asylum."

Via Rianovosti,

Fugitive former CIA employee Edward Snowden, who is wanted by the United States for leaking state secrets, is not collaborating with Russia's Federal Security Service, the FSB, anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks said on its Twitter feed Wednesday.

 

“Mr. Snowden is not being 'debriefed' by the FSB. He is well, ...

 

...

 

“Our special services have never worked with Snowden and are not working with him today,” Putin said during an official visit to Finland.

 

There has been widespread skepticism that the presence of the Snowden – a former CIA technician and contractor for the National Security Agency – at a Moscow airport would not have prompted any interest from Russian intelligence officials.

Via The South China Morning Post,

Ecuador on Wednesday said the United States must “submit its position” regarding Edward Snowden to the Ecuadorian government in writing as it considers the former US spy agency contractor’s request for asylum.

 

Ecuador, in a statement from its embassy in the United States, also said it would review Snowden’s request "responsibly" and weigh "human rights obligations".

 

Ecuador’s foreign minister Ricardo Patino who is on a trip to Malaysia says his government could take months to decide whether to grant asylum to Snowden.

 

Patino compared Snowden’s case to that of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been given asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

 

He told a news conference in Malaysia that Ecuador took "two months to make a decision in the case of Assange, so do not expect us to make a decision sooner this time."