President Vladimir Putin

President Vladimir Putin: Snowden has apparently now withdrawn his request, but not before Russia's President Vladimir Putin hastily assured the outside world that Snowden is not a Russian spy, and the Kremlin will not support the fugitive's "anti-American activity.", according to CBC. However, Putin's gesture to the U.S belies a steadily deteriorating relationship between the two countries over the four years since President Barack Obama launched his putative "reset policy," aiming to put the relationship on a new course and Edward Snowden, the American intelligence leaker and fugitive, helped to make U.S.-Russia relations all the more uncomfortable this past week, when he surfaced unexpectedly in Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, looking for asylum. Regarding Snowden, Putin said. "If he wants to stay here, there is one condition: he must stop his activities aimed at inflicting damage to our American partners, no matter how strange it may sound on my lips." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.