UPDATED: Snowden Withdraws Russian Asylum Request, Most Countries Reject His Bid

According to WikiLeaks, classified data leaker Edward Snowden has sought asylum in 21 countries.

Here are the latest developments on those requests.

Russian news agencies Tuesday quoted President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that Snowden withdrew his request when he learned about the terms Moscow has set out. Putin said on Monday that Russia is ready to shelter Snowden as long as he stops leaking U.S. secrets.

At the same time, Putin said he had no plans to turn over Snowden to the United States.

Several of the other countries where the WikiLeaks says Snowden has applied for asylum have said he cannot apply from abroad. Officials in Germany, Norway, Austria, Poland, Finland and Switzerland all said he must make his request on their soil.

WikiLeaks said requests have also been made to Bolivia, Brazil, China, Cuba, Ecuador, France, Iceland, India, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Spain and Venezuela [Ed. Note: Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro denied receiving a request for asylum from Snowden.]

Brazil and India are currently the only countries reported to have received and formally rejected Snowden's asylum plea.

While the ministry [of India] did not state the reason for the rejection however, it reportedly isn’t based on the ethics of snooping and spying but on the fact that Snowden doesn’t have valid travel documents, reported CNN-IBN.

When Snowden had that travel snag in Hong Kong, he was able to get around it when he received a travel pass from Ecuador. He will not likely be able to do that again, as Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, reportedly did not approve of the first pass being issued and is not likely to assist Snowden anymore unless he can get on Ecuadorian soil.

So Snowden will continue to stay in a Russian airport, without a U.S. passport, as a growing list of countries reject his bid for asylum and the United States urges him to return home.

“You’ve heard Mr. Assange say earlier that he’s sort of marooned in Russia.  That’s not true,” said State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell Monday. Saying the US is prepared to issue Snowden “one-way travel documents,” Mr. Ventrell added, “He’s still a US citizen. He still enjoys the rights of his US citizenship, which include the right to a free and fair trial for the crimes he’s been accused of.”

UPDATE: The Guardian UK reports that Snowden has applied to 21 countries for asylum and has been rejected or dismissed by all but two, Bolivia and Venezuela.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/...

Meanwhile Snowden reportedly remains unbowed.