Obama still goes to Russia after Snowden case
The White House is considering whether the US President will have a bilateral meeting with the Russian President.
US President Barack Obama confirmed on August 6 that he will travel to Russia to attend the G20 Summit in St. Petersburg, but expressed disappointment that Russia has granted temporary asylum to former US security spy Edward Snowden.
Speaking on NBC's "The Tonight Show," Obama said that Moscow sometimes behaves like it did during the Cold War.
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US President Obama talks with the host of "The Tonight Show" |
Mr Obama did not say whether he would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a meeting that would likely involve Moscow rejecting a US recommendation to grant Snowden asylum for a year. The White House said it was considering the role of the bilateral meeting.
Washington has wanted Snowden to return to the US, facing charges of espionage and revealing US internet and phone surveillance programs last June.
“Sometimes they fall back into the Cold War mentality,” the US president said of Russia.
"I told President Putin, that's the past and ... we have to think about the future. And there's no reason why we shouldn't cooperate more effectively than we have."
In his speech on NBC, Mr. Obama also said that the recent threat that forced the US to close its embassies in the Middle East was very clear.
"It's a reminder that, despite the progress we've made, violent extremism still exists," Obama said. "We have to get a handle on it."
The US State Department issued a worldwide alert last Friday, warning all US citizens that al-Qaeda may be planning attacks in August, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa. The State Department initially announced the closure of US embassies on Sunday, but later decided to close several more embassies.
Relations between Russia and the United States deteriorated when Russia decided to grant asylum to former US security contractor Edward Snowden on August 1.
In June 2013, Edward Snowden revealed shocking information. Accordingly, since 2007, the US National Security Agency (NSA) has been pursuing a top secret program that allows monitoring Internet access and wiretapping of citizens around the world./.
According to VOV - DT
