Russian officials say Snowden has not yet applied for political asylum

Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency leaker, has not applied for asylum in Russia, according to officials there.

The Associated Press, citing Russian news sources, reports that the head of the country’s migration services and a spokeswoman there said that they had not received an application from Snowden, who has been holed up in the Moscow airport since June 23.

Snowden, who had a meeting with human rights groups on Friday, also said that he hoped to gain at least temporary political asylum in Russia, and that he would make that request on Friday.

Bolivia, Nicaragua and Venezuela have all offered Snowden asylum, but there are logistical challenges for him to get to Latin America.

{mosads}President Obama and Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, discussed Snowden’s status on Friday. The White House has also pressured its Latin American neighbors not to help Snowden, while Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, asserted that Russia provided Snowden a “propaganda platform” on Friday.

Putin has said that Snowden could get asylum if he vowed to stop leaks about American intelligence actions. Snowden said in Friday’s event with human rights groups that he would stop leaking, according to news sources.