Moscow - A senior Russian official on Friday rejected strong US criticism of Moscow's decision to grant temporary asylum to the US whistleblower Edward Snowden.
State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee head, Alexei Pushkov, put the blame for the affair on the US itself.
“Because they closed all escape routes, the US left Moscow with no choice,” he wrote on Twitter.
Snowden had been unable to leave Moscow's Sheremtyevo airport because his US passport has been revoked.
On Thursday Russia granted temporary asylum to Snowden, 30, allowing him to leave the airport, where he'd been holed up for nearly five weeks.
Snowden's lawyer said he'd been granted asylum for a year, and was being taken to an undisclosed destination.
The White House in Washington said it was “extremely disappointed” with Russia's decision, which - it said - could damage relations between the two countries.
The US wants Snowden sent back to the US to face espionage charges in connection with his revelation of wide-scale electronic surveillance programmes by US spy agencies. - Sapa-dpa
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