Putin: Snowden's in Moscow airport and we're not handing him over!

[Warlord]

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Snowden will not be extradited to the United States, the AP reports:

Putin said that Snowden hasn't crossed the Russian border and is free to go anywhere.

Speaking on a visit to Finland Tuesday, he added that Russian security agencies "didn't work and aren't working" with Snowden. He gave no more details.

Commenting on a U.S. request to extradite him, Putin said that Russia doesn't have an extradition agreement with the U.S. and thus wouldn't meet the U.S. request.

He voiced hope that Snowden will depart as quickly as possible and that his stopover at Moscow's airport wouldn't affect bilateral ties.

 

[donnay]

dasvidaniya Америка!

 

[JCDenton0451]

This is why we like the guy! Fair enough, he is pretty thuggish and autocratic at home. But looking at this from our perspective, it's great that there are places in the world where the long hand of the US government can't reach.

 

[HOLLYWOOD]

Valdimir Putin's translation to English:

 

[AuH20]

This is why we like the guy! Fair enough, he is pretty thuggish and autocratic at home. But looking at this from our perspective, it's great that there are places in the world where the long hand of the US government can't reach.

He's leaving Snowden alone for purely entertainment reasons.

 

[EBounding]

Putin is not a good guy, but I'm very glad this is working out for Snowden.

"Mr. Snowden is a free person," Putin said of the 30-year-old American, who is being aided by the anti-secrecy group Wikileaks and has asked Ecuador for political asylum. "The sooner he chooses his final destination, the better it would be for us and for himself."

 

[Warlord]

Russia's President says former NSA contractor Edward Snowden is still in the transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. Vladimir Putin says that any accusations of Russia related to Snowden are "nonsense and rubbish."

“It is true that Snowden has arrived to Moscow, and it really came as a surprise for us. He arrived as a transit passenger, and didn't need a [Russian] visa, or any other documents. As a transit passenger he is entitled to buy a ticket and fly to wherever he wants,” Putin said as he spoke to journalists in Finland.

Snowden “has not crossed” the Russian border, Putin stressed, saying that any accusations against Russia are “nonsense and rubbish.”

The President said that there is no extradition treaty between Russia and the US, which makes it impossible to extradite people like Snowden.

“We can only extradite any foreign citizens to such countries with which we have signed the appropriate international agreements on criminal extradition,” he explained.

Snowden “has not committed any crime” on Russian soil, Putin added. Russian security agencies “have never worked with and are not working with” the former NSA contractor, he stressed.

"Snowden is a free person. The sooner he chooses his final destination, the better it is for him and Russia," Putin said.

He also expressed hope that the Snowden saga would not have any negative impact on Russian-American relations.

“I hope this won't affect the cordial nature of our relations with the US. I hope our partners will understand this,” Putin said.

Putin asked a question to the audience if "people like Assange and Snowden should be extradited to be put to prison or they shouldn't?"

"In any case, I would like not to deal with such issues because it is like shearing a pig: there's lots of squealing and little fleece," he said.


http://rt.com/news/putin-snowden-moscow-extradition-220/

 

[tod evans]

Classic!

"In any case, I would like not to deal with such issues because it is like shearing a pig: there's lots of squealing and little fleece," he said."

 

[One Man Wolf Pack]

Hey Hollywood, here is your chance at another sequel!

THE TERMINAL 2

 

[Origanalist]

As they say at Mcdonalds.........I'm lovin' it.

 

[JCDenton0451]

He's leaving Snowden alone for purely entertainment reasons.

Putin (like many Russians) distrusts the Democracy in general and considers Western form of liberal democracy a sham. This is a major theme of Russian domestic propaganda. Snowden and the facts he uncovered give some credibility to this view. For Putin this whole affair has major PR benefits all around.

 

[dannno]

Iceland Iceland Iceland Iceland Iceland

 

[surf]

yeah, this is pretty fucked up when Putin's thoughts and input into US domestic and foreign policy is more "sound" than DC official policies

 

[surf]

Iceland Iceland Iceland Iceland Iceland

ever been there? not certain that's where i'd want to be shipwrecked.

i'm thinking Ecuador could be nice

 

[Danan]

ever been there? not certain that's where i'd want to be shipwrecked.

i'm thinking Ecuador could be nice

I'd go with Iceland.

 

[VIDEODROME]

Would America try to capture or kill Snowden in this Airport zone?

Or just try to track his movement and figure out which plane he gets on? Is he going to have to pull a D.B. Cooper

 

[Working Poor]

Russians don't seem to have as much emotional baggage as Americans. They have had much harder lives than most of us. People of my generation in Russia did not have many of the modern conveniences that I grew up with. People on my generation did not have cars and modern shopping convince that I grew up with. Most people had to grow a garden and made their own clothes down to their underwear and socks.

Russians are tough. They have a big population in the usa. I have a friend who can make any thing from the most unusual things. The average Russian is better educated than the average American. My friend told me that the government of Russia expected a person to go to college or trade school to the highest level of ones ability. There were no student loans for college, they would test and evaluate and send you to the school that matched your abilities. The early education was the same way. Socially they were repressed. Most people from there don't discuss issues about sexuality in the news but they don't seem as hung up about it either as Americans. Women took responsibility for their children from my generation and the man was also expected to provide financial support.

 

[VIDEODROME]

I was intrigued when I learned the Russian festival Maslenitsa is kind of like Mardi Gras but includes organized village fist fighting.

http://goeasteurope.about.com/od/russia/a/maslenitsa.htm

The Maslenitsa Pancake
Blini are Russian pancakes, and they are essential to the celebration of Maslenitsa. Said to symbolize the sun—being warm, round, and golden—they are an appropriate warning to the lingering cold weather. Blini are given to friends and family all through the week and are topped with caviar, mushrooms, jam, sour cream, and of course, lots of butter.

Fist Fighting
Group fist fights are undertaken during the week of Maslenitsa. This may sound strange to Westerners, but it's all a part of the interesting absurdity of Maslenitsa. Fist fighting commemorates Russian military history, when soldiers supposedly fought each other in hand-to-hand combat, but this fist fighting is just in good fun!

 

[kcchiefs6465]

If he is still at the airport I am wondering how exactly 30 or so dumbass reporters boarded a plane to Cuba. You'd think they'd be sitting right next to him, asking him questions, that sort of thing. Unless Russia is helping him remain low (in a back office, or moved to another airport) until he is able to catch his plane, which I don't know one way or the other.

Could be misinformation or disinformation. I'll wait to hear from wikileaks that he is alive and well. Well I figure he is alive, I just wonder if he is well. Who knows where he is. Besides perhaps a select few lawyers.

 

[Zippyjuan]

They basically said Snowden is there but not there. By being in the "transit zone" in the airport, he has not yet technically entered Russia. "We can't force him to leave because he isn't in our country" (thinking of that movie with Tom Hanks where his charachter was stuck at JFK Airport). I saw one comment on CNN while fipping channels which said (and seems to be true) that Snowden's travels have knocked his revelations off the media radar which is actually counter to what he wanted to achive by bringing them to the media's attention. He is burrying his own story.