RUSSIA: Flight believed to be carrying whistleblower Edward Snowden arrives in Moscow

Record ID: 860632

  • Title: RUSSIA: Flight believed to be carrying whistleblower Edward Snowden arrives in Moscow
  • Date: 23rd June 2013
  • Summary: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (JUNE 23, 2013) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CAR WITH ECUADORIAN FLAG JOURNALIST NEAR CAR AIRPORT EXIT FOR DIPLOMATIC TRAVELLERS JOURNALISTS FOLLOWING MAN IN SUIT
  • Embargoed: 8th July 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Russian Federation
  • City:
  • Country: Russia
  • Topics: Crime,Communications,International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA4SPQ34HYI9N9N8WIUZ5Z2LEU5
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: A plane believed to be carrying former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden from Hong Kong lands in Moscow.


    A passenger plane believed to be carrying former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden from Hong Kong landed in Moscow on Sunday (June 23).
    Reporters at Sheremetyevo International Airport said there was no immediate sign of Snowden, who is charged by Washington with espionage, but Russian media suggested he may have been whisked away by car to a foreign embassy in Moscow.
    A car with diplomatic license plates, and an Ecuadorian flag waited outside one of the airport's exits.
    A source at the Russian airline Aeroflot said earlier on Sunday that Snowden planned to fly from Moscow to Cuba on Monday (June 24) and then go on to Venezuela.
    The South China Morning Post reported that Snowden had left Hong Kong for Moscow, and that his final destination might be Ecuador or Iceland. The WikiLeaks anti-secrecy website said Snowden was heading for an unnamed "democratic nation".
    Passengers exiting from passport control in Sheremetyevo airport after the flight from Hong Kong landed said they had noticed a black car and border guards outside their aircraft upon arrival, but none had been able to confirm seeing Snowden on the flight.
    "I don't know. By the plane? Yes, there was a car - one. No, they let us out right away - the car was empty," one passenger said.
    "A car drove up, but there were border guards, so everyone just went on to the buses, and left. No, there wasn't anything diplomatic - it was just as usual, there were just cars as usual from the border and customs services," another passenger, Alexander said.
    No-one was immediately available for comment at the embassies of Venezuela and Ecuador.
    President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said he was unaware of Snowden's plans and the Foreign Ministry declined comment on whether he had asked for asylum.
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