MOSCOW, April 17 (RIA Novosti) – Answering a question from Edward Snowden during an annual call-in show Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia neither conducts large-scale surveilance programs nor monitors telephone calls.
Snowden, wanted by US authorities, now resides in Russia after being granted asylum following his disclosure of classified information that unveiled massive digital surveillance programs on US citizens. The whistleblower asked Putin if the Russian government also intercepts data on its own citizens.
Putin answered that Russia has no such programs, as the country can neither financially nor technically afford to conduct such large-scale surveillance. He added the country likewise does not monitor telephone calls on a mass scale, as does the United States.
The comments by the Russian president echoed those of European leaders, who have loudly protested the US surveillance efforts, known to involve leading companies such as Facebook, Google and Apple.
The Washington Post and Guardian papers were awarded Pulitzer prizes earlier this week for their groundbreaking work cooperating with Snowden to bring the US National Security Agency’s surveillance programs into the public light.
