The White House Says It Is Extremely Disappointed With Snowden’s Asylum

The Obama Administration has responded to the Russian decision to offer Edward Snowden temporary asylum for a period of one year. They have stated that they are “extremely disappointed” with the decision and as a consequence are “evaluating the utility” of the upcoming summit planned for this autumn between the two nations.

The White House spokesperson has said that the development is an unfortunate one in Russia-US relations that could have lasting effects. He mentioned previous cooperation between the two nations over law enforcement issues in the past and said he was disappointed it had not continued. That said, experts such as Stephen Cohen (Professor of Russian Studies and History at New York University and Princeton University) have stated such cooperation was always on a one-way basis with Russia helping the USA and getting nothing in return. It is therefore unlikely that these developments will have any negative consequences for Russia other than to irritate “anti-Russian” lobbyists in congress.

With internal anti-Russian political pressures likely to explode in the coming weeks, U.S president Barack Obama will be tested in how to respond to Russia’s decision. U.S Senator and former Republican presidential candidate John McCain has already demanded a dramatic rethink of USA-Russian relations calling for an expansion of the Magnitsky Act List and increased enforcement efforts for it. He further demanded a push to expand missile defence systems further across Eastern Europe, including in Georgia, and for a dramatic expansion of NATO.

Image courtesy of United Liberty.Org