Snowden granted three-year Russian residency permit

Edward Snowden's lawyer says the National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower has been granted permission to stay in Russia for three more years.

In 2013, Snowden was granted temporary asylum for one year in Russia, which lapsed on Aug. 1.

His lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, was quoted by Russian news agencies on Thursday as saying Snowden now has been granted residency for three more years but that he has not been granted political asylum.

He said Snowden could apply for citizenship after living in Russia for five years, in 2018, but that Snowden, a U.S. citizen, has not decided whether he wants to stay or leave.

"The decision on the application has been taken and therefore, with effect from Aug. 1, 2014, Edward Snowden has received a three-year residential permit," Kucherena said. "In the future, Edward himself will take a decision on whether to stay on and get Russian citizenship or leave for the United States."

Snowden was stranded in a Moscow airport last year en route from Hong Kong to Cuba, shortly after he released extensive documentation about the NSA's surveillance programs.

Snowden is believed to have leaked 1.7 million digital documents. His leaks revealed massive programs run by the NSA that gathered information on hundreds of millions of Americans' emails, phone calls and Internet use.

He was charged last year in the United States with theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified intelligence to an unauthorized person.

He reportedly spent a month in the airport before receiving the temporary asylum but was seen only at one tightly restricted meeting with human-rights representatives.

Since receiving the temporary asylum, his whereabouts have not been made public.

The announcement comes at a time when Russia's relations with the West are at Cold War-era lows over Russia's actions in Ukraine. Russia responded to Western sanctions by banning certain food imports from the United States, the European Union, Australia, Canada and Norway on Thursday.

"I don't think there's ever been any question that I'd like to go home," Snowden said in a television interview in May. "Now, whether amnesty or clemency ever becomes a possibility is not for me to say. That's a debate for the public and the government to decide. But, if I could go anywhere in the world, that place would be home."

Kucherena said Snowden is working in the information-technology field and that holding a job was a key consideration in extending his residency. The lawyer didn't give details of where Snowden is working.

He said Snowden's security was being taken seriously and that he was using private security guards.

"He leads a rather modest lifestyle, but nevertheless we proceed from the tone of statements that come from the U.S. State Department and other political figures," he said. "The security issue should not be treated as a secondary one."

Kucherena also was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying that he intends to publish a novel that includes elements of the Snowden case. He claimed rights to the book have been sold to American film director Oliver Stone.

Wire services