Putin Comments on Snowden's Asylum Request

　　Russia Russian President Vladimir Putin has made his response to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden's request for temporary asylum¹ in the country.

 

　　Putin didn't give a clear answer on whether the request would be accepted but stressed that the relationship between Russia and the United States is more important than any intelligence scandal.

 

　　Putin has reiterated² his claims that Snowden is not planning to stay in Russia for long, hinting the U.S. citizen is not welcome in the country.

 

　　The Russian Federal Migration³ Service has confirmed it has received an application for asylum from Snowden.

 

　　The whistleblower has been stuck in the transit⁴ zone of Moscow's Shere/met/yevo airport since he arrived on a flight from Hong Kong on June 23rd.

 

　　According to Russia's Federal Migration Service, Snowden could be transferred from the transit zone to the department's temporary shelter for refugees while waiting for the authorities' decision.

 

　　Meanwhile the White House has issued a statement, once again calling on Russia to hand over Snowden.

 

　　White House spokesman Jay Carney:

 

　　"Our message has been clear and consistent in this regard and Mr. Snowden has all of the rights that every American citizen charged with a crime in the United States has and he should be returned here where he can stand trial and take advantage of those rights so that's the conversation we are having with foreign governments and that's the conversation we're having with our Russian counterparts."

 

　　The White House contends Snowden is neither a human rights activist⁵ nor dissident.

 

　　The White House has urged the Russian government to deny the asylum request and hinted that it will hold Putin accountable for the decision.

1 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

2 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

3 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

4 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

5 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。