Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee charged with espionage in the United States, is flying to Cuba via Moscow, a source close to Snowden said.
"He has departed on a direct flight for Moscow and will be there in the evening. But he will not stay in Moscow long. He discussed an option of further transit to Cuba," the source added.
Continue After The Break.
  • The US has demanded that Latin American countries should not accept Edward Snowden on their territories
  • Russian news agency ITAR-TASS, referring to a certain informed source, says that at present, Snowden is probably in the VIP zone of the Sheremetyevo airport, undergoing passport control.
  • Snowden has not been seen either near the Ecuadorian or the Venezuelan embassies in Moscow
  • Ecuador's ambassador left Sheremetyevo, he declined to comment, VoR's correspondent reports
  • The car of Ecuador's ambassador, which has been seen to leave the Sheremetyevo airport near Moscow, hasn't come to the Ecuadorian embassy so far. Russian and foreign journalists have gathered near the embassy. Light is on at the building's second floor. The embassy is being guarded by several policemen, who do not give any comments, saying: “Please ask all the questions to relevant government bodies.”
  • The head of the Russian parliament's lower house's committee for international affairs Alexey Pushkov believes that the US should not provoke an international scandal in connection with the case of Edward Snowden. This was Mr. Pushkov's reaction to a recent statement of US Senator Charles Schumer, who said that if Russia supports Snowden, this may have serious negative consequences for US-Russian relations. “Russian security forces have no reason to arrest Mr. Snowden,” Mr. Pushkov said. “He is not internationally wanted, and he has not committed any law offense on Russia's territory.”
  • The U.S. State Department confirmed that Snowden's passport was revoked
  • Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino will hold a press conference on Monday, which will be devoted to Edward Snowden's request to Ecuador's authorities to grant him political asylum
  • The U.S. Embassy in Moscow did not confirm or deny information that U.S. government revoked Snowden's passport
  • The US and Ecuador have an extradition treaty, but article three clearly states: "The stipulations of this treaty shall not be applicable to crimes or offenses of a political character."
  • A car of the Ecuadorian ambassador left the Sheremetyevo airport near Moscow, but the only person in it was the driver. Journalists are still in the airport, because another car of the ambassador is still there.
  • "Snowden and the Ambassador of Ecuador are meeting in Moscow", - reported the Ecuadorian media, without specifying the source of information.
  • VoR's correspondent Olga Denisova's Twitter, @ODenisova_VR: Ecuador diplomatic car is a hero. All cameras want it (Photo): 

  • An Aeroflot source said Snowden had taken a small overnight room at terminal E: "He has arrived. He cannot leave the terminal, since he doesn't have a Russian visa," said the source.
  • Snowden will wait for his next flight at Sheremetyevo airport - source in Aeroflot
  • Diplomatic Ecuador car, probably Snowden PHOTO 

  • Sources in the Sheremetyevo airport confirmed, that Snowden arrived by Aeroflot flight SU-213 to Moscow.
  • Snowden disappears after arrival in Moscow.
  • According to some media Snowden was picked up by BMW with diplomatic plate. It's now near official delegation lounge PHOTO 

  • Some passengers of Flight SU213 are convinced to have seen Snowden aboard. Many people say security was tightened on the runway at the time of the landing.
  • Snowden did not appear in Sheremetyeva airport after coming from Hong-Kong, Voice of Russia correspondent Olga Denisova reports. PHOTO 

  • US NSA chief Keith Alexander says not sure why Snowden extradition effort failed in HK; says no "noble motives" behind leaks
  • @KiritRadia_ABC: Talked to 2 people on Snowden's flight who say plane was met on the tarmac by a diplomatic cars. None saw him, but werent looking for him
  • No clarity yet whether Snowden will seek political refuge in Russia - Pushkov
  • A passenger has been cited as saying Snowden had allegedly climbed into a car with a diplomatic license plate as soon as he left the plane.
  • Most of the HK-Moscow flight passengers have already entered the airport premises. Snowden is believed to have left the plane among the first Business Class passengers. Journalists say he might be in the transfer lounge.
  • Passengers of the HK-Moscow flight can’t confirm if Snowden was on board.
  • VoR’s Olga Denisova is waiting for the Snowden to come out of the exit gate.
  • He has gone through registration and is definitely aboard the plane. He was cleared into the plane, the source said.
  • A source at the Hong Kong airport told Interfax meanwhile that Snowden had definitely boarded the Aeroflot plane bound for Moscow.
  • The passengers of the flight are to pass through customs and passport control, and then they will enter the arrivals area at Terminal F.
  • Passengers of the HK-Moscow flight can’t confirm if Snowden was on board.
  • Over 50 reporters are looking out for Snowden at the airport, VoR’s Grigory Milenin says.
  • Passengers from SU 213: a lot of police near aircraft while landing in Passengers from SU 213: a lot of police near aircraft while landing in Moscow, Olga Denisova reports.
  • Passengers from flight SU 213 have not seen Snowden in a economic class of plane, Olga Denisova reports.
  • The exit for Moscow-Hong Kong. Airport security do not welcome journalists. Still no Snowden PHOTO 

  • Passengers from flight SU213 arriving in airport by buses, not by gate, VoR's Olga Denisova reports.
  • Passengers of the HK-Moscow plane had to wait 20 minutes before they were allowed to leave the board, Voice of Russia correspondent Olga Denisova reports.
  • Snowden’s Hong Kong lawyer Robert Tibbo has told reporters that Snowden left Hong Kong “on lawful grounds,” but refused to comment on his further plans.
  • According to an insider source, Snowden can spend this night in the Venezuelan embassy, if he gets into the embassy’s car right from the plane, as being in a car that belongs to a foreign embassy is considered the territory of that particular nation.
  • There is no police on board durig the flight - Hong Kong-Moscow Flight passengers
  • Snowden doesn’t have a Russian visa. He is expected to get registered at the transit register check-in and to wait in the transfer lounge for his Monday flight to Havana.
  • US senator Schumer charges that Russia's Putin likely knew and approved of Snowden's flight from HK and says it will likely hurt US-Russian relations
  • US government must use every available legal option to get Snowden - US House Intelligence Committee chief Mike Rogers
  • Snowden's move "defies logic" of his whistleblower assertions - US House Intelligence Committee chief Mike Rogers
  • Equador Consulate's car has been spotted at the airport.
  • VoR's correspondent Olga Denisova is waiting for Snowden in Sheremetyevo airport PHOTO 

  • This suggests that the Russian law enforcement services will not detain the ex-agent, who has arrived in Moscow and is expected to fly to a third country.
  • The open section of Interpol's international search database, posted on the Interpol.int website, has no information about former CIA agent Edward Snowden, who accused the American special services of hacking into telephone conversations.
  • Interpol's open database has no info on Snowden
  • Security for computer techs tightened after Snowden case - NSA
  • US Justice Dept says will continue to discuss matter with HK, will seek cooperation of countries where Snowden may be headed.
  • Flight carrying Snowden from Hong Kong lands in Moscow, Voice of Russia correspondent Olga Denisova reports.
  • Snowden requested that WikiLeaks "use its legal expertise and experience to secure his safety", the statement said.
  • "What is being done to Mr Snowden and to Mr Julian Assange - for making or facilitating disclosures in the public interest - is an assault against the people."
  • "The WikiLeaks legal team and I are interested in preserving Mr Snowden's rights and protecting him as a person," said former Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon, legal director of Wikileaks and lawyer for Assange.
  • WikiLeaks said Snowden's asylum request will be formally processed once he arrives at his final destination.
  • 'Of course, he will be contacted by those who’d welcome more details on the Prism program. But my feeling is that he won’t depart at once, that he won’t just go straight onto the connecting flight and wave Russia goodbye'- Alexander Konovalov, President of the Russia-based Institute for Strategic Assessments
  • Waiting for Snowden - a crowd of journos and confused passengers PHOTO 

  • It should land in about 45 minutes or so.
  • The handy flight tracker shows Snowden's plane is within reach of Moscow.
  • 'Diplomats' escorting Snowden to undisclosed destination - WikiLeaks
  • "I have great personal sympathy for Ed Snowden's position. WikiLeaks absolutely supports his decision to blow the whistle on the mass surveillance of the world's population by the US government." Assange added.
  • "Owing to WikiLeaks' own circumstances, we have developed significant expertise in international asylum and extradition law, associated diplomacy and the practicalities in these matters." Assange said
  • "He is expected to land in Moscow at 5pm, local time and will be met by diplomats from the country that will be his ultimate destination. Diplomats from that country will accompany him on a further flight to his destination..."
  • Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Assange said WikiLeaks had arranged Snowden's passage to a "democratic country" that he refused to name.
  • Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, has been speaking about Snowden's departure from his own exile, inside the Ecuadorean embassy in London.
  • "Snowden has tickets for an Aeroflot Moscow-Havana connecting flight for the middle of the day on Monday. According to preliminary reports, he does not have a Russian visa. Therefore he is likely to check at the transit desk and spend several hours in the transit zone. In this case he will not have to pass border control, which means that formally he will not enter Russia. Thus the law enforcement bodies of this country will be unable to detain him," the source added.
  • Russian law enforcers will be unable to detain former CIA employee Edward Snowden upon his arrival in Moscow because he is unlikely to cross the Russian border but will spend several hours before his flight to Havana in the transit zone of Sheremetyevo airport, a source familiar with the situation has told Interfax.
  • Interfax says Snowden doesn't have a Russian visa and will await Havana flight in SVO transit zone.
  • Snowden will decide himself on his ultimate destination. "It is not known exactly where he will decide to fly to from Moscow. Maybe he will want to remain in Moscow," the source added.
  • "He chose such a complex route in the hope that he will not be detained and he will be able to reach his ultimate destination - Venezuela - unhindered. Thus he is to make a total of three flights: Hong Kong - Moscow, Moscow - Havana, Havana - Caracas," the source close to Snowden has told Interfax
  • A source working for Aeroflot was quoted by Russian media as saying Snowden was flying together with Sarah Harrison - a WikiLeaks employee
  • 'If we consider the possibility of Mr. Snowden actually turning to our government for political asylum and choosing Russia as his final destination, this wouldn’t of course serve to improve our bilateral relations with the US' - Alexander Konovalov, President of the Russia-based Institute for Strategic Assessments
  • US officials decline Snowden comment, AFP reports
  • If Snowden does end up in Cuba he will, of course, be in a deeply paradoxical position for a whistleblower and advocate of open information. Cuba maintains significant repression against independent journalists, along with governments opponents and right activists, Guardian reports
  • "A passenger under that name will arrive in Moscow from Hong Kong today on flight SU213, and tomorrow, on June 24, he will fly to Havana on flight SU150," the state news agency ITAR-Tass quoted a source at the airline as saying. "Also tomorrow, he will go to Caracas from Havana on a local flight."
  • Edward Snowden was on his way to Caracas via Moscow, Havana on Sunday, Russian media reported
  • HK Govt statement on Snowden: extradition docs submitted by US ‘did not fully comply with legal requirements’
  • He said: "The US government will be irate with their Hong Kong counterparts [and] may even question whether the Hong Kong government was acting in good faith pursuant to their treaty obligations. I have no doubt that they were, and it is quite common for government lawyers to seek more information on surrender or mutual legal assistance requests before local process can begin."
  • Simon Young, director of the Centre for Comparative and Public Law at the University of Hong Kong, described the news of Snowden's departure as "a shocker".
  • The United States consulate in Hong Kong declined to comment, referring questions to the State Department in Washington
  • Press release of Hong Kong government
  • Snowden flying to Caracas via Moscow - media citing Aeroflot
  • Edward Snowden is flying to Cuba via Moscow, a source close to Snowden said
  • Alexey Pushkov, the head of the Duma’s international affairs committee said: “It’s already being said that an offer of asylum to Snowden from us would be ‘a Cold War act’. But spying in wigs is the norm, so asylum isn’t an act,” he said referring to the Kremlin’s recent expulsion of a suspected US spy
  • The former US intelligence worker and the man at the center of global data scooping scandal, Edward Snowden, didn’t ask Russia to grant him political asylum last week, Russia’s Itar-Tass news agency has cited an unnamed diplomatic source as saying Sunday
  • Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said on Sunday that he was unaware of the location or plans of former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden
  • A spokesperson from the Hong Kong government confirmed to press that Edward Snowden had "legally and voluntarily" left the country
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    US whistleblower Edward Snowden is en route to Moscow from Hong Kong on an Aeroflot flight