Kerry criticizes Russia, China for helping Snowden
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has said there would be “consequences” for Russia and China if they helped whistleblower Edward Snowden in boarding a plane to Moscow in an attempt to reach a third country.
“It would be very disappointing if he was willfully allowed to board an airplane,” Kerry, who was traveling in New Delhi, said, as reported by The Washington Post. “There would be without any doubt … consequences.”
The former National Security Agency contractor had traveled to Hong Kong before he revealed about secret U.S. surveillance programs. He is facing criminal charges in the United States for disclosing the global spying programs.
Snowden spent a night in Moscow’s airport after leaving Hong Kong on Sunday and was expected to board an Aeroflot plane to Cuba en route to possible asylum in Ecuador. But reports said that he was not spotted among the passengers before the airplane took off.
There is no confirmation of Snowden’s current whereabouts.
The White House has asked Russia to "look at all options available" to expel Snowden. The Russian government did not immediately comment but Russian officials said Moscow had no obligation to comply with Washington’s request.
Experts say Moscow’s decision to allow Snowden to travel through Russia will further strain the U.S.-Russian relationship as tensions are already on the rise between the two countries over the unrest in Syria.
Washington has also lodged "strong objections" with Hong Kong and China for letting Snowden flee.
Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said Monday his country was "analyzing" a request for asylum by Snowden.
Ecuador has previously rejected the United States' extradition request for WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, and helped him avoid prosecution by letting him stay at its embassy in London.
The U.S. Justice Department has charged Snowden with “espionage” and “theft of government property”, “unauthorized communication of national defense information,” and “willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized person.”
Snowden is the eighth whistleblower that has been charged under the Espionage Act under the Obama administration. This is more than all previous U.S. administrations combined.
