Russia's foreign minister has rejected U.S. demands to
extradite National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, who apparently
stopped in Moscow while trying to evade U.S. justice.
Sergey Lavrov said that Snowden hadn't crossed the Russian
border and insisted that Russia has nothing to do with him, his relations with
U.S. justice or his travel plans.
"He chose his itinerary on his own," Lavrov
insisted. "He has not crossed the Russian border."
Speaking at a news conference Tuesday, he angrily lashed out
at the U.S. demands for the extradition and warnings of negative consequences
if Moscow fails to comply.
Lavrov said that accusing Russia of "violation of U.S.
laws and even some sort of conspiracy" with regard to Snowden is
"absolutely ungrounded and unacceptable."
He wouldn't specify the location of Snowden, who booked a
Havana-bound flight from Moscow Monday but didn't show up on the plane.
As CBS News correspondent Bob Orr reported Monday night, the
White House believes the former NSA contract employee facing espionage charges
is in Russia, and the United States has mounted huge pressure on the Russians
to send him home before he can head into asylum in some other country.
An Obama administration official told CBS News Tuesday
morning that the White House did not have a formal response to Lavrov's
remarks, but noted that the U.S. did not file a formal extradition request with
Russia, "given we don't have an extradition treaty."
The official repeated that the U.S. has asked Russia to
"expel" Snowden on the grounds that he is wanted on felony charges.
Julian Assange, the founder of the secret-spilling website
WikiLeaks who is himself hiding in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for fear of
being extradited to Sweden to face questions over sexual impropriety, said
Monday that Snowden was bound eventually for Ecuador, but would not say where
he was in the meantime.
Assange said that Snowden was, "in a safe place,"
but added: "we cannot reveal what country he is in right now."
Ecuador is currently "considering" a request from
Snowden for asylum.
Snowden's flight to an unknown refuge appears stalled in
Moscow. As of Monday night, seat 17A -- which Snowden had reportedly booked on this
Cuba-bound jetliner -- remained empty as the plane took off for Havana, Cuba.
It's not clear if Snowden changed travel plans or if Russian
security agents blocked his departure. But, U.S. officials are pressing the
Russian government to detain Snowden as a fugitive traveling with a revoked
passport. Jay Carney is the White House press secretary.
"We have asked the Russians to look at the options
available to them to expel Mr. Snowden back to the United States," White
House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters Monday afternoon.
Carney urged Russia not to repeat the actions of Chinese
authorities, who allowed Snowden to leave Hong Kong on Sunday.
"This was a deliberate choice by the government to
release a fugitive, despite a valid arrest warrant, and that decision
unquestionably has a negative impact on the U.S.-China relationship," he
said.
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