US Secretary of State John Kerry said he raised the sensitive issue of secrets leaker Edward Snowden in talks with his counterpart from Russia, where the US fugitive is in diplomatic limbo.
But Kerry told reporters after an Asia security summit in Brunei that their discussions failed to yield any progress on an impasse that has further strained testy US-Russian ties. Kerry said the issue was more a matter for justice officials. “So it is fair to say that we didn’t discuss any substantive progress but I certainly raised from our point of view how it fits within the context of our relationship…,” he said.
“It wasn’t discussed in a way that he would be able to take any action on it, though I hope he will communicate the things I expressed.”
The talks were the highest-level contact between the two nations since Snowden, a former government contractor who leaked explosive details of US surveillance, flew from Hong Kong to Moscow over a week ago.
He has asked 21 nations to consider asylum.
President Vladimir Putin has said that Snowden is welcome to stay in Russia but that he must “stop his work aimed at inflicting damage on our American partners — no matter how strange this may sound coming from me”.
Đăng ký: VietNam News