Snowden appears on Russian TV with a direct question for Putin
America National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden has made his first major public appearance in Russia on a call-in show with President Vladimir Putin via video link.
Snowden on Russian TV
Many will see the broadcast as yet another attempt by Russia to poke a stick in America's eye.
Snowden asked Putin about government surveillance, the Wall Street Journal reported. Putin answered by saying personal privacy is better protected in Russia than the U.S.
Snowden at first questioned the effectiveness of U.S. programs in stopping terrorism and the "unreasonable intrusion" they make into people's private lives, and asked Putin if Russia engaged in similar activities.
"Does Russia intercept, store, or analyze in any way, the communications of millions of individuals?" he asked. "Do you believe that simply increasing the effectiveness of intelligence or law enforcement investigation can justify placing societies rather than subjects under surveillance?"
Putin, a former KGB agent, said Russia's security service adhered strictly to the law in obtaining warrants for wire-tapping and electronic surveillance.
"We don't have a mass system of such interception and according to our law, it cannot exist," he said. "We do not have a wide-scale, uncontrolled effort like that in the United States."
He added that, "we don't have as much money as they have in the States and we don't have the technical ability that they have there."
"Our special services, thank God, are strictly controlled by the laws of society and are well-regulated," he said.
It was the first time Snowden has appeared at any Russian government event since receiving political asylum last summer, said the WSJ. after fleeing espionage charges in the U.S. for leaking highly classified government surveillance programs.