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Snowden says he lives open life in Moscow

Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden said he had not yet decided on what to do after his temporary asylum runs out

RIO DE JANEIRO, May 2. /ITAR-TASS/. Former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden thinks that the US has deliberately revoked his passport while he was transiting through Moscow’s Domodedovo airport to present him as a Russian spy, he said in an interview with the Brazilian Globo TV channel.

Snowden, who received a temporary asylum in Russia, reminded that he did not plan to stay in Russia and was heading through Moscow to Ecuador from Hong Kong, where he had passed to journalists the documents that revealed the US special services’ mass surveillance.

He denied the media allegations that Chinese secret services could have somehow copied the classified documents. Snowden said he was a specialist in cyber-security and was precisely tasked with training CIA agents to protect information. He stressed that he did not cooperate with any government or country.

Snowden says he leads an “open life” in Moscow. He added that he was sure the Russians keep an eye on him, but he never noticed anything. Snowden stressed that though he cannot disclose the location of his residence in Moscow for security concerns, he leads a surprisingly open life.

Snowden said he had not yet decided on what to do after his temporary asylum runs out. He admitted he would be happy to leave in Brazil, where the revelations about US mass surveillance have sparked great controversy, particularly due to the fact that the US secret services spied on Brazilian state companies and politicians, including the country’s President Dilma Rousseff.