Russia rules out Snowden expulsion, rejects US "ravings"

PresidentVladimir Putin confirmed on Tuesday a former U.S. spy agencycontractor sought by the United States was in the transit areaof a Moscow airport but ruled out handing him over toWashington, dismissing U.S. criticisms as "ravings and rubbish".

In his first public comments since the fugitive flew in onSunday, he appeared to make light of the affair around EdwardSnowden, whose flight from U.S. authorities is becoming anincreasing embarassment for President Barack Obama. Asked by ajournalist about the affair, he smiled fleetingly.

"I myself would prefer not to deal with these issues. It'slike giving a baby pig a haircut: there's a lot of squealing,but there's little wool," he told a news conference in Finland.

His refusal to hand back Snowden risked deepening a riftwith the United States that has also sucked in China andthreatens relations between countries that may be essential insettling global conflicts including the Syrian war.

Putin said the 30-year-old American was in the transit areaof Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and, not having gone throughpassport control, was free to leave.

"The sooner he chooses his final destination, the better itwould be for us and for himself," Putin said.

Snowden has applied for asylum in Ecuador but Quito has saidit is still considering the application and the United States istrying to persuade the governments of countries where he mighthead to hand him over. His plans remain unclear.

"He has not crossed the state's border, and therefore doesnot need a visa. And any accusations against Russia (of aidinghim) are ravings and rubbish," Putin said in response to aquestion at a news conference during a visit to Finland.

Washington has gone to great lengths to try to ensureSnowden has nowhere to go to seek refuge. But Putin said Russiahad no extradition treaty with the United States and suggestedMoscow would expel Snowden only if he were a criminal.

"Thank God, Mr Snowden committed no crimes on the territoryof the Russian Federation," Putin said in the garden of a  presidential residence, with Finnish President Sauli Niinistobeside him.

Putin said he hoped relations with the United States wouldnot be affected by the affair but his words seemed to rebuffU.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking only hours earlier.

"It is accurate there is not an extradition treaty betweenRussia and the United states, but there are standards ofbehaviour between sovereign nations," Kerry said, in Jeddah.

There has been speculation in the Russian media that Snowdenmay be talking to the FSB and could be involved in a prisonerswap. Putin said Russian security agencies "never worked with...Snowden and are not working with him today".

TALKS

The U.S. State Department said diplomats and JusticeDepartment officials were talking to Russia, suggesting theysought a deal to secure his return to face espionage charges.

Snowden, charged with disclosing secret U.S. surveillanceprogrammes, left Hong Kong for Moscow on Sunday and theWikiLeaks anti-secrecy group said he was headed for Ecuador.

Journalists camped out at the airport have not spotted himinside, or leaving, the transit area. He has not registered at ahotel in the transit zone, hotel sources say.

A receptionist at the Capsule Hotel "Air Express", a complexof 47 basic rooms furnished predominantly with grey carpets andgrey walls, said Snowden had turned up on Sunday, looked at theprice list and then left.

U.S. officials admonished Beijing and Moscow on Monday forallowing Snowden to escape their clutches but the United States' partners on the U.N. Security Council, already at odds withWashington over the conflict in Syria, hit back indignantly.

"The United States' criticism of China's central governmentis baseless. China absolutely cannot accept it," ForeignMinistry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in Beijing, alsodismissing U.S. criticism of Hong Kong, a Chinese territory, forletting Snowden leave.

WIKILEAKS

Putin also went on to praise WikiLeaks founder JulianAssange, who is also a fugitive from U.S. justice, andquestioned whether he or Snowden should be treated as criminals.

"Ask yourself: should such people be handed over to beimprisoned or not?" said Putin, who last week was smarting atbeing isolated over Syria at a summit of the G8 industrialpowers and sees Washington as an overzealous global policeman.

Fallout from a protracted wrangle over Snowden could befar-reaching, as Russia, the United States and China hold vetopowers at the U.N. Security Council and their broad agreementcould be vital to any settlement in Syria.

International mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said on Tuesday hewas pessimistic an international conference on Syria could takeplace in July as hoped and urged Russia and the United States tohelp contain a conflict which has killed almost 100,000 people.

The Sheremetyevo airport transit area is Russian sovereignterritory, but Russia says that in staying there Snowden has notformally entered the country. Going through passport controlmight implicate Putin in helping a fugitive.

Snowden is travelling on a refugee document of passageprovided by Ecuador, WikiLeaks said.

U.S. officials said intelligence agencies were concerned theydid not know how much sensitive material Snowden had and that hemay have taken more documents than initially estimated whichcould get into the hands of foreign intelligence.

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