Edward Snowden has not entered Russia: Lavrov

Russia has denied it had any involvement in the travel of fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden and lashed out at Washington for accusing Moscow of assisting him.

edward_snowden_130625_getty_468127734


"We are in no way involved with either Mr Snowden, his relations with US justice, nor in his movements around the world," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a news conference.

Lavrov did not confirm or deny that Snowden had landed as previously reported at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on a flight from Hong Kong on Sunday. But he insisted that he had never crossed the Russian border to exit the airport.

"He chose his route on his own. We learned about it, as most of those present did, from the mass media. He did not cross the Russian border," Lavrov told reporters.

Sources quoted by Russian news agencies have said that Snowden spent at least Sunday night in a hotel located in the transit area of Sheremetyevo which would not have required Snowden to pass through passport control or have a Russian visa.

The White House had earlier called on Moscow to look at all the options available to expel Snowden back to the United States. US Secretary of State John Kerry had expressed anger over Russia's apparent role.

But Lavrov slammed Washington and rubbished suggestions that Moscow was complicit in Snowden's disappearance.

"We think the attempts to blame Russia of breaking US laws and even complicity are absolutely groundless and unacceptable," he said, complaining the accusations were accompanied by "threats".

"There are no legal grounds for such behaviour by US officials," he added.

Lavrov is the most senior Russian official to have commented on the Snowden affair since anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks said he had travelled to Moscow from Hong Kong on Sunday.

He had been expected to travel on with Aeroflot on Monday to Havana, but never appeared on the flight.

Lavrov gave no indication of his whereabouts now.


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AFP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world