WASHINGTON: The talks between the US and Russian officials will go ahead as scheduled on Friday, the US State Department has confirmed, despite Moscow’s recent decision to grant former NSA contractor Edward Snowden a one-year asylum.
According to the State Department, Snowden’s case will likely be one of the first issues raised with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Minister of Defense Sergey Shoygu by their US counterparts.
“We have raised Mr. Snowden with Russian officials many times in recent weeks. We expect to do so again,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.
The planned talks seem to indicate a halfway measure to maintain relations between the two countries, although a future meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama in Moscow remains in doubt.
