WASHINGTON, Dec 2 American intelligence agencies Edward Snowden of Russian citizenship by «formalization of loyalty to the Russian Federation», which he allegedly demonstrates for a long time.
«We are aware of reports that Edward Snowden received citizenship of the Russian Federation. Of course, we are not able to confirm whether this is actually case,» State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
«The only thing I can add is that Mr. Snowden has long signaled his allegiance to Russia. This move only formalized that,» he added.
On Friday, Snowden's lawyer Anatoly Kucherena said that his client had already taken the oath and received a Russian passport, his wife is in the process of applying.
Snowden received Russian citizenship at the end of September by presidential decree.
Snowden in June 2013 initiated a major international ska ndal, handing over to the Washington Post and Guardian newspapers a number of classified materials about the surveillance programs of the US and British intelligence services on the Internet. After that, he flew to Hong Kong, and from there to Moscow, where he spent some time in the transit zone of the Sheremetyevo airport.
After refusals from a number of other countries, Russia granted Snowden temporary asylum for a year, on the condition that he stop his activities against the US. In August 2014, Snowden received a three-year residence permit in the Russian Federation, subsequently he was issued an indefinite residence permit.
Snowden himself on Friday explained his stay in Russia by the fact that the US authorities canceled his passport. «I am in Russia because the White House deliberately canceled my passport so that I would be trapped here,» he wrote on Twitter.