Russia has offered three more years of residency for Edward J Snowden, the American whistleblower of National Security Agency's (NSA) wire-tapping operations, his lawyer says.
Anatoly G. Kucherena, the lawyer, announced in a news conference in Moscow that Snowden has not been offered asylum by the Russian government but had been allowed to extend residency until 2017.
Upon fleeing for Russia at the height of the wire-tapping issue, Snowden was initially granted 12 months to stay in Russia. After the said residency ended last July 31, Snowden's camp requested for an extension of residency.
Under the new residency status, Snowden is permitted to travel outside Russia for up to three months.
Labeled as a fugitive by the US government, Snowden had initially "planned to head to Latin America for asylum," Kucherena said. This, however, remained uncertain as recent issue over American surveillance posed serious threat as to whether or not Snowden should be allowed to visit the place.
Snowden previously worked for Central Investigation Agency (CIA) as a system administrator. In 2013, he was charged with espionage after divulging a number of classified files to the public. This leak exposed, among other things, NS's global surveillance activities, the most critical of which was the online data mining program PRISM.
To avoid arrest, Snowden, left the United States and sought asylum from various countries. Russia offered a year-long stay.
Russia's move to offer asylum is said to have further intensify the growing animosity between President Barack Obama and the Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Russian President Putin was quoted to have said in a televised interview last year that Russia was not protecting Snowden but simply had no legal basis to be extradited.
Since fleeing the United States, Snowden has made a couple of interviews via satellite video broadcast. Snowden, however, remained firm in his position about the leak.
Snowden, as stated in another one of his recent interviews, is also looking forward to returning to the U.S. as soon as he is given amnesty. There no words yet as to whether the White House, under the Obama administration, will offer him amnesty.
