by Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America
WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – Following Russia’s decision to grant asylum to former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, President Obama announced that he will not be meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladamir Putin at the upcoming G20 summit in St. Petersburg. The meeting, which aimed to set the two countries’ bi-lateral agenda, was set to take place in Moscow on the heels of the G20 summit.
A White House statement cited “not enough recent progress in our bi-lateral agenda” as the reason for canceling the meeting. Gowever, the timing of the cancellation has led many news outlets to speculate that President Obama was “snubbing” Prime Minister Putin.
The Russian government’s reaction to this “snub” has been understated, with most domestic news outlets simply reporting that President Obama is coming to the G20 summit in St. Petersburg while not focusing on the now cancelled meeting in Moscow.
Foreign relations analysts predict that Obama’s “snub” could hurt US foreign efforts in China, Europe, and the Middle East, where Russia is a key player. Russia could be “a huge spoiler and also a major help [in these areas]” remarked Ariel Cohen, an expert on Russia from the Heritage Foundation.
Following President Obama’s announcement, Lon Snowden, father of Edward Snowden, had a lengthy interview with Reuters in which he reportedly said that Putin will not “cave” to political pressure from the United States. Snowden was more eager to remind Americans that the true story, the NSA mass surveillance program, was being obscured by the story of his son.
The fight isn’t in Russia,” Snowden observed. “The fight is right here. The fight is about these programs that undermine, infringe upon, violate our constitutional rights.”
Snowden has not seen his son since the former NSA contractor left the US, however, he plans to make a visit to Russia within the month.
For more information, please see:
TIME – How Obama’s Putin Snub Is Playing Out in Russia – 8 August 2012
Reuters – Putin will not ‘cave’ to Obama pressure: Snowden’s father – 7 August 2012
The Guardian – Edward Snowden: Obama criticises Russia for granting asylum – 7 August 2012
The Guardian – Obama cancels meeting with Putin over Snowden asylum tensions – 7 August 2012
USA Today – Obama snub won’t matter to Russia, analysts say – 7 August 2012
