
President Barack Obama spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, after the White House warned Moscow not to give fugitive leaker Edward Snowden a “propaganda platform” by granting him asylum.
The call came after Snowden said he wanted to claim temporary refuge in Russia, where he has been staying in an airport transfer lounge, until he could figure out how to reach permanent asylum in South America.
The Obama-Putin call had been scheduled for several days. There were no immediate details on its content, but the White House earlier said it would include discussion of Snowden and other issues.
Obama is due to travel to Moscow in September for a summit with Putin, with whom he has tricky relations, before heading on to the G20 summit in St Petersburg.
Top US officials warned Moscow that offering such status to Snowden would undercut its statements that it did not want the affair to harm relations with Washington.
“Providing a propaganda platform for Mr Snowden runs counter to the Russian government’s previous declarations of Russia’s neutrality,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said.