MOSCOW — Former United States spy agency contractor Edward Snowden has been granted the papers that will allow him to leave the transit area of a Moscow airport where he is holed up, an airport official said today (July 24).

The official told Reuters that Snowden, who is wanted by the United States for leaking details of US government intelligence programmes, would be handed the documents by a lawyer later on Wednesday at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport.

The lawyer “will hand him the papers”, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The immigration authorities declined immediate comment. RIA news agency quoted a border control official as saying said Snowden would be able to leave the transit zone once he received the necessary documents.

Snowden arrived in Sheremetyevo from Hong Kong on June 23 and has requested temporary asylum in Russia until he can safely reach a country that will not send him back to the United States to face espionage charges.

Russia has refused to extradite Snowden and risks further damage to relations with the United States if it grants him temporary asylum. The decision on his temporary asylum request could take up to three months. REUTERS