BREAKING NEWS: US-Russia meeting CANCELED as Russia granted ASYLUM for SNOWDEN
BREAKING NEWS: US-Russia meeting CANCELED as Russia granted ASYLUM for SNOWDEN US President Barack Obama has canceled a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow which was scheduled for September, AP reports. 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 leaker 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, officials said the president decided to cancel the talks. "We'll still work with Russia on issues where we can find common ground, but it was the unanimous view of the president and his national security team that a summit did not make sense in the current environment," White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said, as quoted by the AP. Instead of visiting Putin in Moscow, Obama will add a stop in Sweden to his early September travel itinerary. The US president will not be meeting alone his Russian counterpart while he stops over in St. Petersburg for the G20 summit, either, diplomats said. Rhodes also stated that the decision to grant Snowden temporary asylum within Russia's borders "exacerbated" an already tumultuous relationship between the two nations. The decision follows Obama's comments on Tuesday evening's Tonight Show with Jay Leno that "here have been times where they slip back into Cold-War thinking and a Cold-War mentality. And what I consistently say to them, and what I say to President Putin, is that's the past and we've got to think about the future, and there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to cooperate." A White House official later confirmed the cancellation of the meeting. While Snowden's temporary residency permit is the catalyst for the summit being called off, the US cites "lack of progress" pertaining to other differences between the two countries. Snowden, whose US passport has been revoked, was granted one year's temporary asylum in Russia last Thursday, finally leaving the confines of the Moscow airport where he had been holed up since June 23.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 whistleblower 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.
