The U.S. is "extremely disappointed" in the move by Russia to grant 'temporary asylum' to Edward Snowden, White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters this morning. Carney appeared to add a threat, as the WSJ reports [7], he added that the Russian decision undermines law-enforcement cooperation between Moscow and Washington. Russia's decision also threatens to derail a planned September summit in Moscow between Obama and Putin (oh to be a fly on that wall), as Carney advised "we are evaluating the utility of a summit in light of this." Snowden's earlier comments that "over the past eight weeks we have seen the Obama administration show no respect for international or domestic law, but in the end the law is winning," did not help, adding that he thanks "the Russian Federation for granting asylum in accordance with its laws and international obligations." US politicians see it a little differently, U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-A.Z.) called the move "a disgrace and a deliberate effort to embarrass the United States." Seems they are managing that all on their own.
Via WSJ, [7]
The U.S. is "extremely disappointed" in the move, White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters, adding that the Russian decision undermines law-enforcement cooperation between Moscow and Washington.
Russia's decision also threatens to derail a planned September summit in Moscow between President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which U.S. officials had viewed as a potential breakthrough moment in a monthslong drive to find common ground with Russia on important foreign-policy aims, such as ending the war in Syria. "We are evaluating the utility of a summit in light of this," Mr. Carney said, adding that no decision had been made.
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"He has left for a safe place," Anatoly Kucherena, Mr. Snowden's Russian lawyer
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"Over the past eight weeks we have seen the Obama administration show no respect for international or domestic law, but in the end the law is winning," Snowden said. "I thank the Russian Federation for granting me asylum in accordance with its laws and international obligations."
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Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov immediately played down the impact of the decision to harbor Mr. Snowden. "This situation is too insignificant to affect political relations,"
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U.S. politicians saw the matter otherwise. U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-A.Z.) called the move "a disgrace and a deliberate effort to embarrass the United States," adding, in a statement, that the U.S. should step up advocacy of human rights and civil liberties in Russia
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Fifty-five percent of Americans said Mr. Snowden is a whistleblower, rather than a traitor, according to a national opinion poll released Thursday by Quinnipiac University.