Edward Snowden trapped in Russia by US, says Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has accused the United States of trapping Edward Snowden in Moscow and "spooking" other countries that wanted to give him refuge.

Asked on Monday about the future of the American intelligence whistleblower, who has been living in the transit zone of Sheremetyevo airport for the past three weeks, Mr Putin said: "How do I know? It's his life, his fate. He came to our territory without invitation. And we weren't his final destination. He was flying in transit to other states. But the moment he was in the air... our American partners, in fact, blocked his further flight.

"They have spooked all the other countries, nobody wants to take him and in that way, in fact, they have themselves blocked him on our territory."

Mr Snowden, 30, flew in to Sheremetyevo from Hong Kong. On Friday, he said he was applying for temporary asylum in Russia, with the eventual aim of seeking refuge from US espionage charges in South America. Mr Putin has indicated Mr Snowden could stay in Russia if he did nothing to "harm our US partners", which he said believed that the fugitive was now beginning to accept.