Russian officials say the NSA whistleblower will make a stop in Russia before continuing his trip to Cuba.
The former National Security Agency contractor is expected to land in Moscow at 5 p.m. Sunday, a Foreign Ministry official told the Los Angeles Times on condition of anonymity.
The next flight to Havana is Monday afternoon so Snowden most likely will spend his time in the transit zone of Moscow Sheremetyevo airport, he said.
“Snowden doesn’t have a Russian visa, and he can’t get outside the transit area of the airport,” the official said. “Even if there is an Interpol warrant for his arrest, of which we are not aware, our law enforcement agencies won’t be able to do that in the transit area.”
The official said Snowden is traveling in the company of at least one lawyer associated with WikiLeaks.
The Kremlin is not aware of Snowden’s plans, said Dmitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman. “We know nothing about [Snowden’s] plans, whether he is coming to Moscow or not,” Peskov said.
Snowden – the man who violated his oath to secrecy and blew the whistle on the United States Government’s NSA program – once said that he cannot allow the U.S Government to destroy privacy and basic liberties. He is now running to a country where the Government destroys citizen’s privacy and basic liberties as part of their governing strategies.
