Officials in Russia are growing impatient with Edward Snowden's prolonged stay in Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport.
Reuters reports that Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Russia had not received a request from Snowden to receive political asylum. Officials in Moscow are saying that the longer he stays in the airport, the greater the chances of increased damages in the relationship between Russia and the United States.
"He needs to choose a place to go," Ryabkov said. "As of this moment, we do not have a formal application from Mr. Snowden asking for asylum in the Russian Federation."
Ryabkov also told Itar-Tass news agency that Russia could not solve Snowden's problems and the situation should be resolved "one way or the other."
Russian President Vladimir Putin has refused to extradite Snowden to the U.S. but also said that he could only grant Snowden asylum if he agreed to stop leaking intelligence that could harm the United States.
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