Edward Snowden ‘asks for temporary asylum in Russia’

US security whistleblower Edward Snowden has asked for temporary asylum in Russia, according to reports.

Edward Snowden. Picture: AP

Russia’s state RIA Novosti news agency quoted lawyer Anatoly Kucherena as saying that Snowden submitted the asylum request to Russia’s Federal Migration Service. The service had no immediate comment.

The lawyer said Snowden made the move after a meeting at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport. Snowden has been stuck in Sheremetyevo’s transit zone since he arrived from Hong Kong on June 23.

The former National Security Agency worker said last week at a meeting with Russian rights activists and public figures that he would seek at least temporary refuge in Russia until he could fly to one of the Latin American nations that have offered him asylum.