http://bigstory.ap.org/article/us-defends-intelligence-sweep-same-allies
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's President Vladimir Putin said Monday that former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden will have to stop leaking U.S. secrets if he wants to get asylum in Russia, but he believes that Snowden has no intention of doing so.
Putin's statement came hours after Snowden asked for political asylum, according to the Interfax news agency, citing a consular official at the Moscow airport where the leaker has been caught in legal limbo for more than a week.President Barack Obama said there have been high-level discussions between the U.S. and Russia about Snowden's expulsion, though Putin repeated that Russia will not send Snowden back to the United States.Putin's stance could reflect a reluctance to shelter Snowden, which would hurt already strained U.S.-Russian ties. At the same time, the Russian leader seemed to keep the door open to allowing him to stay, a move that would follow years of anti-American rhetoric popular with Putin's core support base of industrial workers and state employees.
on the surface it does seem Putin wants to now after he's gotten all he could (IMO) out of Sowden and may still feel there's more.
what i wrote the other day about sharing info with competitive countries, being nota favorable thing to do and if so that would lower the importance of the info not to mention everybody knows the same info, the world it still ain't that kinda party, hell security agencies wont tell their counterparts everything so why would a foreign nation give up getting a jump on everyone else.
"He's not our agent and hasn't cooperated with us," Putin said at a news conference. "I'm saying with all responsibility that he's not cooperating with us even now, and we aren't working with him."Snowden doesn't want to stop his efforts to reveal information about the U.S. surveillance program likely because he considers himself a rights activist and a "new dissident," Putin said.
"Just because he feels that he is a human rights defender, a rights activist, he doesn't seem to have any intention to stop such work," Putin said.
don't know quite know ehatto make of his statement given his nonchalant appearance with the Pres., looking like "i know something you dn't know". guess the real question is does he?>
