Ecuador Strains Ties with US by Considering Asylum for Snowden

Local Editor

Ecuador is considering granting political asylum to the former American CIA contractor Edward Snowden over charges of whistleblowing.

Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino told reporters in Vietnam on Monday that Ecuador was considering the request and was in respectful contact with Russia, where Snowden is believed to be now.

According to France 24, it is likely the request will be approved by Ecuador's government.

"We suspect the asylum case will be finalized and that it is just a matter of time before it is approved," the France 24 correspondent said in the Ecuadorean capital Quito.

"[Snowden] has already received assistance by the Ecuadorean government [in Moscow]," she added.

Granting political asylum to Snowden threatens to strain relations between the Obama administration and Ecuador, which have been under pressure ever since Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa took office in 2007.

A week after the one-year anniversary of Assange's stay in the Ecuadorean embassy, which is considered a major obstacle to normalizing Ecuadorean-US ties, a new request for sanctuary threatens the already strained relations.

Source: News Agencies, edited by website team