Fugitive Edward Snowden's hopes of leaving Moscow airport dashed

Moscow: Fugitive US spy agency contractor Edward Snowden's hopes of leaving Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport for the first time in a month on Wednesday were dashed when he failed to secure permission from Russia to leave.

An airport source said Snowden, who is wanted by the United States for revealing details of government intelligence programmes, was handed documents by his lawyer which were expected to include a pass to leave the transit area.

But Snowden did not go through passport control and lawyer Anatoly Kucherena, who is assisting him with his request for temporary asylum in Russia until he can reach a state that will shelter him, said the American did not have the pass he needed.

It was not clear whether there had been a last-minute political intervention or hitch, or the pass had never been in his possession.

But Kucherena said he hoped Snowden's status would be resolved soon.

In Washington, the White House said it was seeking clarification of his status.

"I must say he is of course anxious about it and I hope that this situation will be resolved in the nearest future," Kucherena said at Sheremetyevo.

"This is the first time Russia is facing such a situation, and this issue of course requires time for the immigration workers."

Bolivia, Nicaragua and Venezuela have said they could offer sanctuary to Snowden, who arrived on June 23 from Hong Kong, where he had fled to escape capture and trial in the United Stateson espionage charges.

But none of the three Latin American countries can be reached by a direct commercial flight so Snowden has requested temporary asylum in Russia until he believes he can safely reach one of them.

The United States wants him extradited to face prosecution and has revoked his passport.

But Russia has refused to send him home and risks damage to relations with the United States if it grants him temporary asylum - a process which could take three months.

Kucherena confirmed Snowden was staying somewhere in the many corridors and rooms of the transit area between the runway and passport control - an area which Russia considers neutral territory - and that he had learned the Russian for "Hi", "Bye-bye" and "I'll ring you."

The 30-year-old had received calls from across Russia, with offers to give him money and a place to stay, and even a suggestion by one woman to adopt him. He said he had enough money to get by for now.

Kucherena said he had brought him fresh underwear and shirts and added that he had given him the novel "Crime and Punishment" by 19th Century writer Fyodor Dostoevsky and short stories by Anton Chekhov.

President Vladimir Putin signaled last week that he did not want the dispute to derail Russia's relations with the United States, and the decision on temporary asylum could be delayed until after US President Barack Obama visits Moscow for a summit in early September.

Allowing him to stay in Russia even temporarily would upset Washington. It will be Putin's first summit with Obama since the former KGB spy started a new term last year, and precedes a subsequent G20 summit in St Petersburg.

But a refusal would open Putin to criticism at home that he gave into Moscow's former Cold War enemy.