By IANS,
Moscow: Barack Obama is not going to cancel his visit to Russia, the US ambassador in Moscow said Monday, after media reports said the American president might call off the trip if whistleblower Edward Snowden is still in Russia by that time.
“I am busy preparing for President Obama’s arrival in Moscow and St. Petersburg in September. I am looking forward to the visit,” Xinhua quorted ambassador Michael McFaul as posting on Twitter.
Earlier, Russian newspaper Kommersant quoted a US State Department source as saying that Obama had left open his trip to Russia before the Group of 20 summit to be held in St. Petersburg this autumn.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said he had received no information suggesting Obama’s visit is in jeopardy.
“The visit is being prepared. We are in a constant contact with our colleagues to render the visit maximally busy,” he said.
As for Snowden’s fate, Peskov said the situation was absolutely transparent, and that it was not Russia’s fault that Snowden was unable to leave the transit zone of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport.
The US whistleblower was reportedly lingering at Sheremetyevo airport for the third week Monday since his arrival from Hong Kong June 23.