MOSCOW, July 15 (RIA Novosti) - Russia’s Federal Migration Service (FMS) has not yet received a request for asylum from fugitive former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, the service told RIA Novosti Monday.
“The Federal Migration Service has not yet received an application from Edward Snowden,” FMS spokesperson Zalina Kornilova said.
Last Friday, at a meeting with human rights activists in the transit area of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, Snowden announced his intention to apply for political asylum in Russia, adding he was ready to comply with Russia’s conditions, including not causing harm to the United States.
According to several activists present at the meeting, Snowden has already filed his asylum application. Requests for political asylum fall within the competence of the FMS.
Snowden, who leaked details of US government surveillance programs aimed at US citizens and foreigners, fled the country and arrived in Moscow from Hong Kong on June 23. He has since remained in Sheremetyevo’s transit area, while trying to find a country prepared to grant him asylum.
