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Barack Obama declares US will not intercept plane with Edward Snowden on board

Barack Obama also said that the White House is concerned that Edward Snowden disposes of other documents containing intelligence information
Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS
Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

PRETORIA, June 27 (Itar-Tass) - The jets of the U.S. Air Force will not intercept a plane which might have Edward Snowden on board, U.S. President Barack Obama declared on Thursday.

President Obama has been staying in Senegal where he arrived on an official visit.

Barack Obama also said that the White House is concerned that Edward Snowden disposes of other documents containing intelligence information. That is why the United States wants him to be arrested.

Nevertheless, the United States does not see any need in negotiating the issue of Edward Snowden with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, said Obama.

Non-existent request

Earlier today it was announced that the government of Ecuador gave Edward Snowden the document on the right of entry into the South American country. This was reported by Univison TV channel, which is based in the United States and broadcasts in Spanish. According to the report, the document is dated June 22. It is signed by the Consul of Ecuador in London Fidel Narváez, the report says.

Meanwhile, the Ecuadorian government spokesman said today that the government has not received request for political asylum from ex-CIA employee.

Press worries for Ecuador

As media in Ecuador reports, the scandal with the analyst threatens to damage the country's relations with the United States, and Washington intends to pressure its South American partner by all available means. If the problem is considered in geopolitical sense, from all the countries that are involved in the situation with Snowden Ecuador is the most vulnerable.

As pointed out by Quito newspaper El Comercio, the United States do not have much impact on Russia, China or Cuba, but in the case of Ecuador, the American diplomacy has much more leverage, and a large proportion of it refers to the economy. On the dependence of the local economy from the U.S. points at least the fact that Ecuador's national currency is the dollar.

The United States, says the publication, may slow down economic growth in Ecuador if it will limit the access of goods to its market. The fact is that much of the Ecuadorian production is delivered to the north of the American continent. In this regard, the main theme in the current relations between the two countries is saving reduced fees for local goods.

Under the current program, the United States has provided benefits to Ecuador for its participation in the fight against drug trafficking. The scope of the initiative includes 835 commodity items. The issue with the duties should be solved July 1 - the date was picked long before the situation with ex-CIA agent started. At the same time, the U.S. Congress must approve the granting of preferences until July 21.

No one knows how the U.S. government will behave, but in the recent months, the representatives of the South American country tried to make every effort to prolong the regime of reduced rates.

According to local observers, there is no univocal point of view on the problem of Snowden in Ecuador yet. However, experts are already talking about possible losses to the economy due to a clash with Washington. Thus, the South American country's ambassador to the United States Nataly Celi claims that the refusal of the reduction of duties will lead to a loss of 40 thousand jobs.