Obama cancels Moscow meeting with Putin over Snowden
US President Barack Obama has canceled a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow which was scheduled for September. The move comes after Russia’s recent decision to grant temporary asylum to NSA leaker Edward Snowden.
The US decision is seemingly a diplomatic snub to Russia amid heightened tensions between the two countries over recent issues, including Russia's granting of asylum to National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden and issues including missile defense and human rights.
With few signs that progress would be made during the Moscow summit on this and other agenda items, the White House said the president decided to cancel the talks.
"Russia’s disappointing decision to grant Edward Snowden temporary asylum was also a factor that we considered in assessing the current state of our bilateral relationship," the White House said in a statement.
Washington lists “missile defense and arms control, trade and commercial relations, global security issues, and human rights and civil society in the last 12 months,” among the reasons for cancellation, deeming it more “constructive” to postpone the summit.
Instead of visiting Putin in Moscow, Obama will add a stop in Sweden to his early September travel itinerary.
Moreover, the US president will not be meeting alone his Russian counterpart while he stops over in St. Petersburg for the G20 summit, diplomats said.
Tuesday evening President Obama expressed his "disappointment" on Snowden asylum talking to Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Edward Snowden, whose US passport has been revoked, was granted one year’s temporary asylum in Russia last Thursday, finally leaving the confines of the Moscow airport where he had been holed up since June 23. His new residence permit allows the former CIA employee to work and freely travel all across Russia.
The former CIA employee is wanted in the US on espionage charges after revealing secret NSA surveillance programs to the public.
Among other issues, Russia and the US have considerable differences over the situation in Syria, with the US government determined to see President Bashar Assad ousted from his position. The House and Senate Intelligence Committees gave a green light to arm Syrian rebels at the end of July.
Obama has also voiced antipathy towards Russian legislation against gay rights activism, saying on the Tonight Show that he has “no patience for countries that try to treat gays and lesbians and transgendered persons in ways that intimidate them or are harmful to them.”
The last time the two leaders met was in June at the G8 Summit in Ireland.
The G20 summit will be held on September 5-6, with the US deeming it sensible to still attend, as the annual gathering brings together the world's largest economies. Obama said that it makes sense for the US to have high-level representation at the event.
Source: http://rt.com/news/obama-putin-snowden-meeting-176/
US President Barack Obama has canceled a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow which was scheduled for September. The move comes after Russia’s recent decision to grant temporary asylum to NSA leaker Edward Snowden.
The US decision is seemingly a diplomatic snub to Russia amid heightened tensions between the two countries over recent issues, including Russia's granting of asylum to National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden and issues including missile defense and human rights.
With few signs that progress would be made during the Moscow summit on this and other agenda items, the White House said the president decided to cancel the talks.
"Russia’s disappointing decision to grant Edward Snowden temporary asylum was also a factor that we considered in assessing the current state of our bilateral relationship," the White House said in a statement.
Washington lists “missile defense and arms control, trade and commercial relations, global security issues, and human rights and civil society in the last 12 months,” among the reasons for cancellation, deeming it more “constructive” to postpone the summit.
Instead of visiting Putin in Moscow, Obama will add a stop in Sweden to his early September travel itinerary.
Moreover, the US president will not be meeting alone his Russian counterpart while he stops over in St. Petersburg for the G20 summit, diplomats said.
Tuesday evening President Obama expressed his "disappointment" on Snowden asylum talking to Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Edward Snowden, whose US passport has been revoked, was granted one year’s temporary asylum in Russia last Thursday, finally leaving the confines of the Moscow airport where he had been holed up since June 23. His new residence permit allows the former CIA employee to work and freely travel all across Russia.
The former CIA employee is wanted in the US on espionage charges after revealing secret NSA surveillance programs to the public.
Among other issues, Russia and the US have considerable differences over the situation in Syria, with the US government determined to see President Bashar Assad ousted from his position. The House and Senate Intelligence Committees gave a green light to arm Syrian rebels at the end of July.
Obama has also voiced antipathy towards Russian legislation against gay rights activism, saying on the Tonight Show that he has “no patience for countries that try to treat gays and lesbians and transgendered persons in ways that intimidate them or are harmful to them.”
The last time the two leaders met was in June at the G8 Summit in Ireland.
The G20 summit will be held on September 5-6, with the US deeming it sensible to still attend, as the annual gathering brings together the world's largest economies. Obama said that it makes sense for the US to have high-level representation at the event.
Source: http://rt.com/news/obama-putin-snowden-meeting-176/
