U.S. Reassessing Obama-Putin Summit over Snowden Asylum

The White House said Thursday it would review plans for a U.S.-Russia presidential summit in early September after Moscow's decision to grant asylum to U.S. intelligence leaker Edward Snowden.

"We're extremely disappointed," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters. "We're evaluating the utility of a summit in light of this and other issues."

U.S. President Barack Obama and Russia's Vladimir Putin had been scheduled to meet one-on-one on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in early September in Saint Petersburg.

But that meeting had seemed in doubt over multiple strains in the relationship between Washington and Moscow, including Snowden's status, the conflict in Syria and the conviction of Russian protest leader Alexei Navalny.

Snowden, who faces espionage charges in the United States after revealing details of U.S. phone and Internet surveillance programs, left Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on Thursday after Russia granted him asylum for one year.

"We're extremely disappointed that the Russian government would take this step despite our very clear and lawful requests in public and in private to have Mr Snowden expelled to the United States to face the charges against him," Carney said.

"This move by the Russian government undermines a long-standing record of law enforcement cooperation, cooperation that has recently been on the upswing since the Boston Marathon bombings."

Carney reiterated Washington's position that Snowden is not a whistle-blower or a dissident, but someone "accused of leaking classified information and has been charged with three felony counts."

When asked about the fate of the Obama-Putin summit, Carney replied: "I don't have a scheduling announcement for you today, but obviously this is not a positive development."