Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa says Snowden can’t leave Moscow: report

The World

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa told The Associated Press on Sunday that Edward Snowden is "under the care of the Russian authorities" and can not leave Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport without their permission.

"He doesn't have a passport. I don't know the Russian laws, I don't know if he can leave the airport, but I understand that he can't," Correa said. "If he arrives at an Ecuadorean Embassy we'll analyze his request for asylum."

The 30-year-old former National Security Agency contractor is believed to be seeking asylum in Ecuador. Over the weekend US Vice President Joe Biden asked Correa to turn down the request.

Snowden remains in the transit area of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport where he was been in limbo since arriving on a flight from Hong Kong a week ago.

Since then, Russian President Vladimir Putin has insisted Snowden remains outside Russian jurisdiction since he never legally entered the country.

More from GlobalPost: Ecuador denies issuing travel document to US fugitive Edward Snowden

On Sunday, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange told ABC News' “This Week” that Snowden will continue to leak additional information about the NSA's secret surveillance programs.

“Look, there is no stopping the publishing process at this stage,” Assange said. “Great care has been taken to make sure that Mr. Snowden can’t be pressured by any state to stop the publication process.”

The comments come after German magazine Der Spiegel revealed that Washington also allegedly eavesdropped on European Union offices in both Europe and the US.

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