MOSCOW. After 40 days stranded in a Moscow airport, fleeing U.S. intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden received a temporary asylum certificate Thursday from Russia. Local experts said, despite an apparent desire for the least impact from both heads of states, the one-year permission would still deal a limited blow to the uneasy Russia-U.S. relationship. Inevitable impairment The United States had made it clear several times any help to Snowden from Russia would harm bilateral relations, Veronika Krasheninnikova, director of the Institute of Foreign Policy Studies and Initiatives, told Xinhua. With Anatoly Kucherena, a Russian lawyer assisting Snowden, unveiling a copy of the certificate at Sheremetyevo International Airport, “no one will believe that the Russia-U.S. relations can improve,” the expert said. The certificate issued by the Federal Migration Service (FMS) allows Snowden, who has left the transit zone for an undisclosed “safe place”, to travel freely within Russian territory. Eugeny Varshavsky, a former head of the FMS Department for Legal Support, said Snowden was “not merely an ordinary refugee, but a former special services employee.” “He is now one of the most wanted persons in the world as the secret services do not forgive people who make their secrets public,” Varshavsky told Xinhua. Thus, the U.S. side would continue pressing for the return of the whistleblower, which could certainly impair bilateral relations, he said. Speaking of possible U.S. reactions, geopolitical analyst Udo Ulfkotte told Russia Today television station Washington “will try to expel some Russian diplomats.” “Maybe, tomorrow or next month, there will be news about economic espionage from Russian diplomats... That’s an old game,” the expert said. Meanwhile, the experts stopped short of foreseeing a “dramatic deterioration” between Moscow and Washington. Xinhua
