Russia would consider asylum for US cyber leaker

Russia would consider granting asylum to the American who has exposed top-secret US surveillance programs, if he were to ask for it, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said on Tuesday.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stopped short of saying Moscow would accept Edward Snowden, but pro-Kremlin lawmakers spoke out in favor of the idea, tapping into a lingering Cold War rivalry with the United States and a vein of anti-American sentiment Putin has often encouraged. (Reuters)