Where's Snowden? Russia Rebukes U.S.: We Don't Have Him!
Wherever NSA leaker Edward Snowden is, one thing's for sure: It's not Russia's problem. "We are in no way involved with either Mr. Snowden," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday. "He has not crossed the Russian border." Wait... what? Didn't he land in Russia on Sunday? How is that possible?
Well: If the 30-year-old ex-contractor stays "in transit"—like, say, continuing on to Havana—at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, and hasn't gone through customs or passport control, he hasn't technically crossed the Russian border, and there's very little the U.S. can do about it. This would appear to be what Lavrov is saying, and it's in line with some media reports.
One problem: No one's seen or photographed him. And what about those reports he was taken away from the airport by a Venezuelan diplomat...?
Interfax: Snowden overnights at Venezuelan embassy. Diplomatic car from plane to embassy. Formally never steps in #Russia, so no visa needed
So at this point there are two questions about Edward Snowden: Where is he, and which Tom Hanks-Steven Spielberg collaboration does his story more resemble? Is this is a last-minute plane escape, a la Catch Me if You Can? Or a stuck-in-the-airport-in-diplomatic-limbo fable as in The Terminal? What's the next stop on Snowden's great escape?
