The White House and U.S. lawmakers fumed Thursday after NSA leaker Edward Snowden entered Russia on temporary refugee status, a decision that threw into question the future of U.S.-Russia ties.
"If these reports are accurate, Americans in Washington should consider this a game changer in our relationship with Russia," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in a statement, calling Russia's decision "provocative" and "a sign of Vladimir Putin's clear lack of respect for President Obama."
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, asked at the daily briefing about the move, said it "undermines" law enforcement cooperation between the U.S. and Russia and reiterated the call for him to be returned to the U.S.
"We are extremely disappointed that the Russian government would take this step," Carney said. Carney said the White House is re-evaluating whether a planned fall summit at the G-20 in St. Petersburg with President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin should still occur. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., going further, suggested the G-20 summit be moved entirely over this incident.
A U.S. official also told Fox News that scheduled talks with Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, and their Russian counterparts, are now "up in the air."
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called the decision by Russia a "slap in the face of all Americans." Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez, D-N.J., called the development a "setback to U.S.-Russia relations."
Earlier Thursday, Snowden's representatives said he had been issued papers that allowed him to leave Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, where he was stuck since his arrival from Hong Kong on June 23. He apparently has been given a one-year temporary asylum.
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