Mr Snowden re-emerged at a news briefing at the airport last week
Fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden has applied for temporary asylum in Russia, officials say.
The Federal Migration Service confirmed he had completed the
relevant paperwork at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, where he has been
for the past three weeks.
Mr Snowden is wanted by the US for leaking details of government surveillance programmes.
He has no travel documents, so has been unable to take up asylum offers from a number of Latin American states.
"He reached the conclusion that he needs to write an
application for temporary asylum, and this procedure has just been
done," said Anatoly Kucherena, a lawyer with strong links with the
Kremlin who helped Mr Snowden with the paperwork.
"For now he is not going to go anywhere. For now he plans to stay in Russia," he said.
Meanwhile the White House reiterated its position that the fugitive should be expelled and face trial in the US.
Analysis
"Mr Snowden should not be allowed
to engage in further international travel except as necessary to return
to the United States," spokesman Jay Carney said.
"He is not a human rights activist. He is not a dissident. He's accused of leaking classified information."
'Not Putin's decision'
Mr Kucherena said the fugitive had stated in the application
that he faced possible torture and execution if he returned to the US.
If his application is accepted, he will be free to work and move freely in Russia, said the lawyer.
Russia's Interfax news agency quoted Mr Kucherena as saying
he had asked Mr Snowden whether he would observe a request from
President Vladimir Putin to not harm US interests if he is able to leave
the airport.
"He replied: 'I will observe this condition'," Mr Kucherena told the agency.
Officials said Mr Snowden might be moved to an airport
facility for accommodating refugees while his application was being
processed, which should take no more than three months.
A presidential spokesman told Interfax that Mr Putin had not
yet responded to the asylum request, and that the decision on whether it
would be granted was not his to make.
But although the Russian government insists the decision will
be made by a relatively junior official, the person in charge will be
in no doubt what his boss would like him to do, says the BBC's Daniel
Sandford in Moscow.
President Putin is clearly aware
of the sensitivities involved, and the issue risks overshadowing talks
with US President Barack Obama who is due to visit Russia in September,
our correspondent adds.
Mr Snowden arrived in Russia on 23 June, having left Hong Kong, from where he had issued his leaks to the media.
He held a news conference at the airport on 12 July, where he said he was seeking asylum in Russia.
He has sent requests for political asylum to at least 21
countries, most of which have turned down his request. However, Bolivia,
Nicaragua and Venezuela have indicated they could take him in.
But he is unable to leave the transit zone as he currently
has no asylum documents or Russian visa, and the US has revoked his
passport.
Some European countries are likely to close their airspace to any plane suspected of carrying the fugitive.
Meanwhile on Tuesday groups from across the political
spectrum, including gun rights groups, churches and human rights groups
filed a lawsuit demanding that the US National Security Agency hand over
and destroy all the telephone communication data it has.
The lawsuit alleges the collection of phone records is an
"illegal and unconstitutional programme of dragnet electronic
surveillance". The US justice department has not commented on the case.
Mr Snowden's leaking of thousands of classified US
intelligence documents has led to revelations that the National Security
Agency is systematically seizing vast amounts of phone and web data.
The documents have also indicated that both the UK and French
intelligence agencies allegedly run similarly vast data collection
operations, and the US has been eavesdropping on official EU
communications.
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