Snowden Saga Causes Diplomatic Standoff

09:08

July 03, 2013

This photo provided by The Guardian Newspaper in London shows Edward Snowden, who worked as a contract employee at the National Security Agency, on Sunday, June 9, 2013, in Hong Kong. (The Guardian/AP) — This photo provided by The Guardian Newspaper in London shows Edward Snowden, who worked as a contract employee at the National Security Agency, Sunday, June 9, 2013, in Hong Kong. (The Guardian/AP)

The plane carrying Bolivia’s president Evo Morales was diverted to Austria over suspicions that Edward Snowden — the former NSA agent who leaked sensitive documents to the press — was on board.

The BBC reports that France and Portugal refused to allow the flight to cross into their airspace.

President Morales was flying back from meeting Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow, where Snowden is currently living in an airport transit space as a stateless person.

The Guardian reports Snowden has applied to 21 countries — including Bolivia — for asylum from the United States.

Guest:

Kirit Radia, correspondent for ABC News in Moscow. He tweets @KiritRadia_ABC.
Peter Galbraith, former U.S. Ambassador to Croatia and current Vermont state senator.

This segment aired on July 3, 2013.