Putin: Snowden in Moscow airport's 'transit zone'

MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Edward Snowden is still holed up inside a secure "transit zone" at Moscow's Sheremyetevo Airport, and he repeated that Russia has no legal standing to turn the fugitive document-leaker over to U.S. authorities.

Putin said Snowden arrived in Moscow unexpectedly and had committed no crime in Russia. He has not crossed into a part of the airport that requires him to show his passport to Russian authorities. Because Russia does not have an extradition agreement with the United States, Putin said, Snowden will not be extradited as the United States has requested.

"Thank God, Mr. Snowden has not committed any crimes on the Russian Federation territory," Putin said at a news conference in Finland, where he was traveling. "Mr. Snowden is a free man."

A short time earlier, Secretary of State John Kerry issued an appeal to Russia in hopes of getting them to hand over the ex-government contractor charged with revealing classified information about secret U.S. surveillance programs.

"They don't have to enforce the law," Kerry said. "But they certainly can allow him to be subject to the laws of our land and our constitution, which he is a citizen of. And that's what we call on them to do."

The dueling comments only added to the international tension surrounding the saga of Snowden, who left Hong Kong for Moscow on Sunday despite a U.S. extradition request. He is seeking asylum in Ecuador.

China and Hong Kong also rejected U.S. criticism of their roles in the legal drama, saying their governments also acted in compliance with the law in not transferring Snowden to U.S. custody. On Monday, U.S. officials said there would be serious consequences for Russia, China and any other countries that failed to facilitate Snowden's surrender.

International airports in Russia include "transit zones" so that passengers with connecting flights to other countries can avoid the time-consuming, expensive process of obtaining a Russian visa. The area is defined as outside Russia's borders so that the traveler does not cross through passport control.

Russian authorities are in full control of the area and have the power to escort a traveler through passport control and arrest him if they choose.