Snowden 'has right to become Russian citizen'
Former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden has legal right to become a Russian citizen after he was given leave to remain in Russia for another couple of years.
Snowden's residence permit has been extended "until 2020," Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told AFP.
She had previously indicated on Facebook that Snowden's permit had been extended by two years, using a phrase that can be ambiguous in Russian.
The 33-year-old Snowden is wanted in the United States to face trial on charges brought under the tough Espionage Act of 1917 after he leaked thousands of classified documents in 2013 revealing the vast US surveillance of private data put in place after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
His lawyer Anatoly Kucherena told RT the extension now gives Snowden grounds to obtain Russian citizenship, reports Independent.
The announcement came as outgoing US President Barack Obama commuted the sentence of army private Chelsea Manning, who was sentenced to 35 years in prison for handing classified US documents to WikiLeaks.
Snowden was not on Obama's list of commutations or pardons.
Snowden has been living in exile in Russia since the summer of 2013, ending up in the country after spending weeks in the transit area of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, report AFP.
He was initially granted permission to stay in Russia for one year amid the rapid deterioration in Moscow's relations with Washington.
Kucherena said Snowden "has quite an active life, he travels and visits the provinces, he works."
Snowden welcomed the action on Manning's sentence, writing on Twitter: "Let it be said here in earnest, with good heart: Thanks, Obama."
Asked about Snowden's possible future given Obama's decision, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists yesterday that "this isn't a question for the Kremlin, we don't have any information on what Mr Snowden is doing."
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