Putin rules out extraditing NSA leaker Edward Snowden

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed on Tuesday, June 25 a former U.S. spy agency contractor sought by the United States was in the transit area of a Moscow airport but ruled out handing him to Washington, dismissing U.S. criticisms as "ravings and rubbish", Reuters said.

In his first public comments since Edward Snowden flew in on Sunday, Putin appeared to make light of the diplomatic uproar over the fugitive, whose flight from U.S. authorities is becoming a growing embarrassment for President Barack Obama. Asked by a journalist about the affair, he smiled fleetingly.

"I myself would prefer not to deal with these issues. It's like shearing a piglet: there's a lot of squealing, but there's little wool," Putin told a news conference in Finland.

Snowden, who worked as a systems administrator at a U.S. National Security Agency facility in Hawaii, is facing espionage charges from the United States after leaking details about secret U.S. surveillance programs to the news media. Washington has gone to great lengths to try to ensure that Snowden has nowhere to go to seek refuge. But Putin said Russia had no extradition treaty with the United States and suggested that Moscow would expel Snowden only if he were a criminal. "He has not crossed the state's border, and therefore does not need a visa. And any accusations against Russia (of aiding him) are ravings and rubbish," Putin said in an appearance with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto.