Infamous whistleblower and former NSA contractor Edward Snowden was granted three more years of temporary residency by Russia, his lawyer announced Thursday. Russia had granted Snowden one year of temporary asylum last year, but that expired on Aug. 1.
Snowden is wanted by the United States on espionage charges, but because Russia does not have an extradition treaty with the United States, it has refused to hand Snowden back to American authorities. Russia's acceptance of Snowden last year sparked increasing tensions between Russia and the U.S. — even before this year's conflicts over the annexation of Crimea and separatists in eastern Ukraine. Add this to the latest round of sanction-swapping and it doesn't seem this modern Cold War is warming up any time soon.
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