Ecuador: Snowden Can’t Leave Moscow

Edward Snowden is “under the care of the Russian authorities” and can’t leave Moscow’s international airport without their consent, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa told The Associated Press Sunday in an interview telegraphing the slim and diminishing possibility that the National Security Agency leaker will end up in Ecuador.

Correa portrayed Russia as entirely the master of Snowden’s fate and said Ecuador is still awaiting an asylum request from Snowden before deciding its next moves.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has distanced himself from the case since Snowden arrived in Moscow last week, insisting the 30-year-old former NSA contractor remains in the transit zone of the capital’s Sheremetyevo Airport and that as long as he has not legally entered Russia, he is out of the Kremlin’s control.

At the same time, the Kremlin said on Sunday that it will take public opinion and the views of human rights activists into account when considering Snowden’s case, a move that could lay the groundwork for him to seek asylum in Russia.

“This is the decision of Russian authorities,” Correa told the AP during a visit to this Pacific coast city. “He doesn’t have a passport. I don’t know the Russian laws, I don’t know if he can leave the airport, but I understand that he can’t. At this moment he’s under the care of the Russian authorities. If he arrives at an Ecuadorean Embassy we’ll analyze his request for asylum.”

Last week, several members of Russia’s Presidential Council for Human Rights spoke out in support of Snowden, saying he deserved to receive political asylum in the country of his choice and should not be handed over to the United States. And a handful of protesters picketed outside the Moscow airport in what appeared to be an orchestrated demonstration on Friday, holding signs reading “Edward, Russia is your second motherland” and “Russia is behind Snowden.”

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Ekho Moskvy radio that while Snowden is not Russia’s concern, the Kremlin is aware of the viewpoints of Russian experts and representatives of human rights organizations.

“Public opinion on the subject is very rich,” Peskov said in the radio interview. “We are aware of this and are taking it into account.”

Correa said he had no idea Snowden’s intended destination was Ecuador when he fled Hong Kong for Russia last week. He said the Ecuadorean consul in London committed “a serious error” by not consulting officials in Ecuador’s capital when the consul issued a letter of safe passage for Snowden. He said the consul would be punished, although he didn’t specify how.

Analysts familiar with the Ecuadorean government said that they believed Correa’s administration at first intended to host Snowden, then back-tracked this week when the possible consequences became clearer.

This article appeared in print on page 2 of the July 1st, 2013 edition of Hamodia.