Analytical review: Snowden is a nail in the boot for both Russia and the United States.
Moscow, July 17 / Xinhua / - A fugitive American whistleblower Edward Snowden filed a formal petition on Tuesday to grant him temporary asylum in Russia. This created a dilemma for the country whether to refuse this request against humanitarian reasons or to irritate the "American partners" by satisfying the request.
But local experts say that Russia would only be glad to get rid of a former CIA officer who was stuck at Sheremetyevo Airport a few weeks ago. And this is the desire of Moscow coincides with the desire of Washington.
YOU DO NOT BREAK
After a three-week adventure in the spirit of “catch me if you can,” Snowden summoned human rights activists and lawyers last Friday to his Sheremetyev prison. However, their half-hour communication hardly helped to make the situation any more intelligible.
According to Anatoly Kucherena, a lawyer who has undertaken to help the American, Snowden himself has not yet decided for sure whether he wants to go to Latin America after receiving asylum in the Russian Federation.
Earlier, President Vladimir Putin made it clear that Moscow would not spoil its relations with the United States for the sake of Snowden and would consider his request only if the American ceased its human rights activities. "Only without us," Putin said.
According to experts, the Kremlin is very cool towards Snowden because relations with Washington are more important for Russia's interests.
Putin, emphasizing that Snowden in Russia is just a transit passenger, that no one called him to Russia, at the same time pricked the Americans, mentioning that they themselves so frightened the whole world that no country wants to mess with their 29- summer citizen.
This story is unlikely to significantly harm Russian-American relations, experts say. On the contrary, two countries, having found a common enemy, usually become closer to each other.
"Both Moscow and Washington understand that Snowden is too small a bipod to affect the relations of the two giants. Both Putin and Obama are annoyed by the very existence of Snowden, albeit for different reasons. So they are both looking for a mutually acceptable way to remove this nail from soles, "expert at the Moscow Carnegie Endowment Alexei Malashenko said Xinhua.
IN THE TOPS WHILE DID NOT DECIDE
The leaders of Russia themselves have not yet decided on the situation, experts say. While Putin is not enthusiastic about what is happening, the heads of both chambers of the Russian parliament have suggested that Snowden should have been granted asylum in the Russian Federation without any conditions, only for humanitarian reasons.
"In Russia, no one fully understands what is happening, and senior officials are no exception," says Malashenko.
Faced with a dilemma, Putin has to strike a balance between the not-so-clear advantages of getting into the hands of a bearer of American secrets and the very real prospect of the unpleasant consequences of such a move.
"Therefore, Putin allows state officials following him to say out loud what he himself does not risk," Malashenko said.
Chairman of the Board of the Eurasia Heritage Foundation Elena Yatsenko says that it’s very important for Putin in this situation to once again confirm Moscow’s principled position - if someone doesn’t like the political regime in his homeland, external intervention to change it is unacceptable.
"Denying Snowden the right to conduct anti-American activities from Russian territory, Putin confirms the position that any disputes within the country should be resolved by its citizens themselves. Moscow has been upholding this position in recent years," Yatsenko says.
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