First there were allegations that he was orchestrating a crackdown on the opposition, the allegations that he walked off with Robert Kraft’s Superbowl ring, then reports of a tense-no-love-in mood when he met with President Barack Obama, and now there’s the development that Russia is involved in helping NSA leaker Edward Snowden flee Hong Kong and go to a country where the U.S. will have problems extraditing him. If Putin had to choose side, it seems as if he has done so with a flourish — and New York Senator Chuck Schumer says there could be some consequences:
Russian President Vladimir Putin is harming his county’s relationship with the United States by allowing NSA leaker Edward Snowden to land in Moscow, Sen. Chuck Schumer charged on Sunday.
The New York Democrat also suggested China’s leadership had influenced Hong Kong’s decision to allow Snowden to leave there, despite his outstanding espionage charges from the United States.
“I have a feeling the hand of Beijing was involved here,” Schumer told chief political correspondent Candy Crowley on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “What’s infuriating here is … Putin of Russia aiding and abetting Snowden’s escape. The bottom line is very simple. Allies are supposed to treat each other in decent ways, and Putin always seems almost eager to put a finger in the eye of the United States.”
Snowden – who leaked information about top secret government surveillance programs – left Hong Kong on Sunday “through a lawful and normal channel,” the Hong Kong government said. He later touched down in Moscow, according to WikiLeaks, which helped him leave Hong Kong, though Russia was not expected to be his final destination.
The U.S. had initially asked Hong Kong to extradite Snowden, and a Justice Department spokesman said Sunday it would continue working to have Snowden returned to the United States.
The likelihood of Snowdon be returned: the chance of a snowfall in you-know-where.
The likelihood of Putin having better relations with the United States during the Obama administration and whatever American administration follows it: not much better.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.