Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview Wednesday that Edward Snowden is a “strange guy” who will likely lead a “difficult life” after his disclosures of top secret U.S. surveillance programs.
“You know, I sometimes thought about him, he is a strange guy,” Putin said in an interview with state-run Channel One television, as quoted by AFP. “How is he going to build his life? In effect, he condemned himself to a rather difficult life. I do not have the faintest idea about what he will do next.”
Russia’s decision to grant Snowden asylum has compounded Putin’s already-frosty relationship with President Barack Obama. It prompted Obama to nix his meeting with Putin that was scheduled for this week.
Putin said in the interview that the U.S. “could have been more professional” on the Snowden matter and revealed that the former government contractor was told while he was in Hong Kong that he could come to Russia so long as he stopped the leaks.
“He was told about it,” Putin said. “And he left, just left, and that’s it.”
