LDPR says Snowden should be kept in Russia to exchange him for Bout, Yaroshenko
MOSCOW. June 24 (Interfax) - The Russian Liberal Democratic Party, LDPR, said it proposed to exchange former CIA employee Edward Snowden for Viktor Bout, Konstantin Yaroshenko and Oleg Kalugin, who were convicted in the United States.
"No need to send Edward Snowden to the U.S., having given in to the demands of the U.S. side (why all of a sudden?) but to exchange him for Bout and Yaroshenko. Besides, former KGB Major General Oleg Kalugin, who fled to the U.S. and has been convicted in Russia in absentia for treason, could also become another party in the exchange," LDPR press office said in a statement obtained by Interfax on Monday.
"In any case, taking into account that the U.S. authorities have annulled Snowden's passport, the agent on the run has to stay in Russia until the situation with his future is clarified," the statement said.
Bout's lawyer Alexei Binetsky told Interfax on Monday that talks regarding the exchange of Snowden for his client were "harmful and are of provocative character."
Viktor Bout's brother Sergei Bout has just proposed exchanging Snowden for Viktor Bout.
Viktor Bout was sentenced to 25 years for weapons trafficking and support of terrorism in the United States in 2012. Yaroshenko was sentenced to 20 years in prison in September 2011 for trafficking large batches of drugs.
It has been reported that Snowden intended to fly with Aeroflot from Moscow to Havana. The Ecuadorian authorities said they considered giving political asylum to the former CIA employee. It is also possible that Snowden could go to Venezuela.
